Area Six (6, 7 & 8)

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Phoebe Merrick

Area Setting and Landscape Open and other spaces Settlement Pattern Building Form & materials page 1 Building Form & materials page 2 Streets and Street Furniture Trees/hedges Boundary Features Consultation Process

Streets and Street Furniture

Other than the sites on the slope of Winchester Road, the whole of Upper Cupernham and Winchester Road area is residential. Apart from the Co-op, residents use shops in neighbouring areas for their convenience shopping. There is however considerable variation in the streets across the area.

There is a general absence of footpaths that are off-road and people wishing to get from one part of this area of Romsey to another have no option but to use the roadways. The only exceptions are a narrow path that joins the lowest section of The Crescent to the upper section and another that leads from Winchester Road to Selsdon Avenue.

The upper part of The Crescent is a private road and the western half of the upper stretch is not made up. The rest of the road has a tarmac surface, with pavements in the lower portion of the road.

Winchester Road has a filter lane for traffic turning into Cupernham Lane and another for hospital traffic. There is no pedestrian refuge between Cupernham Lane and Viney Avenue. The road is not felt to be convenient or safe for pedestrians, for example those wishing to cross it to go to the convenience stores or bus stops.   Similarly there is no provision to assist pedestrians to cross Cupernham Lane apart from a traffic island by the junction with Winchester Road. Crossing near the junction with Woodley Lane can be difficult because pedestrians have poor sight lines due to the curve of the road.

Winchester Road & Cupernham Lane junction Traffic queuing on Cupernham Lane

Winchester Road has footpaths along both sides of the road and has several bus stops and shelters. The pavement that runs between the two ends of The Crescent has a grass verge between footpath and road. There is a narrow grass verge on the northern side of Winchester Road east of Bow Lane.

Most of the other roads in this area have pavements. Some have grass between footpath and road, for example at the top of Brook Way or the bottom of Woodley Lane.

Substation in shrubs , Woodley Lane

Substation road view, Woodley Lane

The area has some unfortunately placed utilities. The electricity substation at the bottom of Woodley Lane is very conspicuous, and is not enhanced by the scrubby vegetation that surrounds it.

New street lights, Richmond Lane

New street lights have been erected in Richmond Lane which are well liked as they focus light downwards and increase the illumination in the lane.

Winchester Road, The Crescent, Cupernham Lane and Woodley Lane all suffer from the presence of overhead cables together with their accompanying poles. For example, in The Crescent eleven cables run from one pole, some of which are very large and visually obtrusive. By contrast the lamp posts are mostly original, having been converted from gas lamps.

Design Recommendations

	Improved provision for pedestrians to safely cross Winchester Road, Cupernham Lane and the bottom of Woodley Lane should be considered.
	Opportunities to remove overhead cables should be sought.
	Include the vegetation around the substation in Woodley Lane in a proper maintenance programme.

Trees / Hedges and other landscape features

The area has many mature trees that shape its environment. Perhaps the most striking is the row of oak trees behind the bungalows in Brook Way which makes a splendid back drop to the road.

Oaks behind Brook Way

Apart from these trees there are a number of mature trees beside the road in Brook Way, including mountain ash, lime, hawthorn, pine, and birch. The mature oak trees of this area continue into Richmond Lane where they mostly grow on the northern side of the road.

Parkland Trees, Carisbrooke Court

The visitor to Carisbrooke Court sees a row of trees running from south to north across the line of the entrance road. They include a copper beech and a horse chestnut as well as a line of larch trees and a parallel line of mountain ash. Apart from their importance in Carisbrooke Court, they form part of the skyline for Richmond Lane and Brook Way. In addition there are a number of mature trees, including blue pine, particularly in the upper part of the road in private gardens. They add to the parkland feel of this estate .

There are several trees on the mound in Ashley Meadows. Some were planted by the builders on completion of the site and one was planted in 2003 in memory of a young resident. Amongst the trees there is a large weeping willow and smaller specimens of maple, mountain ash, prunus and birch.

The side of Woodley Lane between Ashley Meadows and Cupernham Lane contains a number of mature trees, mostly pine, but apart from these, the trees in Woodley Lane are fairly scattered. Much the same is true of the eastern side of Cupernham Lane where there are some trees in front gardens, but the pavement is not wide enough to accommodate trees on public land. Pine trees, Lower Woodley Lane

Pines and Larch, Woodley Lane

Boundary Hedges, Winchester Hill

Winchester Road is mostly lined with high hedges apart from the stretch by the garage and buildings are not particularly apparent. However it has trees in abundance. Many mature trees between Chirk Place and Chirk Lodge set the scene of villa type development. Species around Chirk Place include lime, ash, larch, cherry, and walnut. There are some mature trees within the grounds of Chirk Lodge including a copper beech and an oak. There are fewer mature trees by the hospital, although the grounds have been extensively landscaped.

The banks on the slopes on each side of Winchester Hill are not well maintained. Although none are in evidence close to the garage forecourt, too many ash saplings and brambles have been allowed to develop on the northern side of the road and they affect the attractive daffodils and later the ox-eye daisies.

The Crescent and the sides of Winchester Road further east have many mature trees in such number that it is easy to under rate the number of houses that exist in the area. There is a striking Wellingtonia in Nerquis Close which is a landmark feature for traffic coming up the hill. Unfortunately it is near the end of its natural lifespan. There are belts of trees both east and west of The Crescent separating it respectively from the hospital and Selsdon Avenue.

Wellingtonia, Nerquis Close

 

Design Recommendations

	Trees are very important to this part of Romsey and should be retained or replaced with suitable species.
	Trees need to be sensitively managed.
	Owners of the banks beside Winchester Hill should be encouraged to undertake a proper maintenance programme.

 

Boundary Features

Low Purbeck Walling, Brook Way

Most of the properties in this part of Romsey have fenced front gardens. Open plan is the exception not the rule, although many of the partitions are formed by low walls and fences. The effect of this form of low fencing is to create a spacious feeling. In Brook Way and parts of Richmond Lane and Woodley Lane the front gardens are separated from the pavements by low walls of Purbeck stone. The rear fences are mainly post and wooden panels.

The front gardens of the older properties are commonly surrounded by shrubs and hedges. Some of the large pre-1914 properties have substantial hedges which are landscape features in their own right. One or two properties have had large wooden fences erected between their front gardens and the street, which changes the feel of the area because of their scale.

Open plan gardens, Woodley Lane

Railing in front of Clarence House

There is a pleasing row of railings separating Clarence House from the main road and one or two of the larger properties have substantial metal gates in this area. Alongside Cupernham Lane, there are some retaining walls between private property and the roadside. Some of these are topped with hedges, but one has decorative railings.

 

Design Recommendations

	Hedges should be properly maintained at suitable heights.
	High fences are inappropriate in this area, unless screened by vegetation.