Urban Analysis Report: Wivenhoe Central Historic Core - Research Paper Example

?Urban Analysis Report: Wivenhoe Central Historic Core Introduction and Location Wivenhoe is a delightful place to visit with a wide culture and numerous interesting sites to view. The area is a large and reputable village located at about three and half miles southeast of Colchester and sitting on an attractive acclivity, northeast of River Colne. It is located right at the point where the river expands into an estuary, with the higher section of the village commanding a fine viewpoint of the area up to Mersea Island (White's Directory, 1848). The Town has a rich history that involves ships, fishing, yachts, dinghies, and smuggling. When one visits the place, it would be hard not to notice the church that originates from the Saxon error. The church has a distinctive cupola on top of its sturdy tower that is hard to miss. The aerial view of the town layout appears as the map below with the main distinctive features such as the river easily identifiable. (Google Maps 2012. 77 High St Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex CO7 9AB, UK) The area has an extensive activity in fishing trade, specializing in oysters and soles as they have a high demand in the UK. Wivenhoe Park, designed by Richard Woods (1759), was initially the Rebow’s family home for several centuries. The Rebows are descendants of the Flemish cloth weavers originating from Colchester. The Rebows’ house in the park was the result of a design by Thomas Reynolds. In 1846-7, the park underwent a series of remodeling under supervision of T. Hopper (Hayes, 1993). The town’s population is around nine to ten thousand people; this includes travelers, a large group from the University of Essex that is in the region, and a long-standing artistic community (Embling, 2008). The town has a smart design in a way that the streets are small and old-fashioned, lead into each other and finally head to the attractive waterfront with a lot of fishing boats as well as small sailing crafts. 2. Analysis of the Urban Characteristics of Wivenhoe (Central Historic Core) 2.1. Urban Structure 2.1.1. Framework It was not until 1898 that Wivenhoe became an urban district maintaining this position until in 1974 that is when it was placed among the new Colchester district. The town’s boundaries are because of streams on the east side and north-west part of the town, while River Colne borders it on the west and southern part along with its marshes. Gradual improvement on the river saw isolation of the meadow, which was a marshland on the west bank of the river. 2.1.2. Routes A road cuts through from Colchester heading to Elmstead and Walton-on-the-Naze. The same road cuts through the northeastern section of the ancient parish. Heading further south, there is another road from Colchester heading to Alreford and running from east to west across the Parish area. The same road also has a branch running in the southeast direction pointing towards Brightlingsea. Another road turns southwest and further ahead turns to the south and ends up at Wivenhoe Quay. (StreetMap, 2012. [Online] Available at: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=604289&y=221874&z=120&sv=wivenhoe&st=3&tl=Map+of+Wivenhoe,+Essex+[Town]&searchp=ids.srf [Accessed 2 Oct. 2012]) Another road built privately by De Veres, known as the entry, was also made public before 1566. Most of the other small roads in the city are to link up the river to the main roads. The lane running through the crossing on River Colne starting at the west section and ending at Old Heath was started in 1734. (A view of one of the streets in the town: Wivenhoe Town plan, 2008. [Online] Available at: http://tmf.colchester.gov.uk/servedoc.asp?filename=CORP_LDF_02DEC08_Wivenhoe_TP.pdf) 2.1.3. Spaces The residents of this area that are living on the large housing estates still have complaints with the public transport service. The idea they proposed was for the bus services to be made of larger buses and taking spinal routes to maintain alternative buses for the local community (Wivenhoe Town Council, 2007). Furthermore, there were also more policies that encourage the community to embrace walking, cycling, and use of public transport. This pushed for the move to commitment of creating safe routes that connect the rural and semi-rural areas while increasing permeability of junctions that connected roads to the rural areas. 2.2. Urban Grain 2.2.1. Blocks The urban grain is the representational of the region’s building, plot, and block patterns. The town has a long-standing idea of redesigning the town to current living standards. From 1973, there was the establishment and publication of A Design Guide for Residential Areas by the ECC. The design’s adoption and acceptance by the planning authorities and development industry respectively have made it a forerunner of many other design guides (Wivenhoe Town Council: News, 2009). (Wivenhoe Riverfront on the River Colne. [Online] Available at: 2 Oct. 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wivenhoe_riverfront,_2009-10-04.jpg [Accessed 2 Oct. 2012]) The town council is currently comfortable with the retail space targets and housing. 2.2.2. Buildings The council understands that since 2001, the housing targets that were set for 2021 have almost been achieved (Wivenhoe Town Council: Report, 2007). The council has also taken note that the viability of employment and retail opportunities from rural area centers depend mostly on policies made elsewhere. Community-use buildings are also a priority in Wivenhoe, as St. Johns Ambulance suggested. This would ensure that a large number of organizations in the community have accommodation throughout the year for their activities (St. John Ambulance Community, 2012). The area now has high-class buildings spreading across the entire region, ranging from luxurious to ordinary houses. Some of the luxurious houses are available in areas such as Oakwood Grove. “Each house at Oakwood Grove has been individually architect designed and built to the most exacting standards and attention to detail” (Vaughn & Blyth, 2012). The Essex County Council (ECC) maintains an established and strong commitment towards a quality design in buildings and landscape in partnership with high-leveled design experts (Wivenhoe Town Council, 2007). (Vaughn & Blyth, 2012. Oakwood Grove final brochure: site map) 2.2.3. Plots A new project seeks to deliver change, and the Urban Place Supplement (UPS) document is helping to deliver a change. Its main purpose is to minimize wastage in new developments through help of social and economic context (Essex Waste Management Partnership, 2008). 2.3. Landscape 2.3.1. Shape Starting from the south where it borders River Colne and moving west to the parish, there is a gradual rise of the land to over 30 m across the land towards the northeast side of the parish. A good view is achieved while on the higher parts of Mersea Island. (Wivenhoe map: pre-1987. [Online] Available at: http://www.wivenhoe.gov.uk/images_various/Misc_Wivenhoe/Conservation_area2.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.wivenhoe.gov.uk/WTC/conservation_area[old].htm [Accessed 2 Oct. 2012]) (Wivenhoe Town’s current map. [Online] Available at: http://www.wivenhoe.gov.uk/images_various/Colchester/ColWardMap.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wivenhoe.gov.uk/Colchester/Col_ward_map.htm) 2.3.2. Form The larger part of the parish consists of sand and glacial gravel with presence of glacial loam as one move towards the northeast. The area moving along the Colne Valley has large deposits of London clay, which spreads across the riverbanks up to the region near the quay where there is more of sand. The area around the river is also a marshland, thus likely to flood most of the time when it rains heavily. 2.3.3. Ecology There has been conservation of the river, and the water is much clearer now. In the past there was a lot of pollution coming from the Clochester gasworks, but, now they are being controlled and even one can be able to see seals play in the water (Wivenhoe Encyclopedia, 2012). The area also used to harbor a variety of birds, in most cases, one could see many sparrows, but it is believed that they disappeared with the reduction of commercial shipping. One can still have a wonderful view when sailing across the river before the high tide. 2.3.4. Natural Features Wivenhoe in itself is a very picturesque place and natural with a very scenic landscape. The largest outstanding natural feature in Wivenhoe is the Colne River, which gives the town its great reputation. 2.4. Density and Mix 2.4.1. Development The town has very many developments in comparison to its history. However, not everything has been changed. Some of the memorable and attractive features such as the Wivenhoe Park still emerge out in the town. The ECC in 2007 put in place an exemplar program that is designed to ensure quality is at the forefront while undergoing extensive development in the town. The initiative is supported county-wide under the Essex Development Initiative (EDI) banner (Essex Waste Management Partnership, 2008). On the lower side of the town, there is a designated conservation area that has many streets being maintained for architectural interest (Peers, 2009). 2.5. Scale 2.5.1. Height and Massing The area is approximately 3 miles on the southeast side of Colchester. The town covers around 627 ha of land (Baggs, 1995). The area boundaries were formed naturally as it is located where an estuary starts. Parochial marshland covering about 69 acres on the west bank of River Colne has been isolated after the improvement of the river. On the other side, there was a slight alteration of the Civil Parish boundary in 1897. This resulted in the Southeast corner receiving an additional 15 acres from Elmstead. One gains up to 30 m height as he moves from the coastline upwards to the northeast side (British History Online, 2012). 2.6. Appearance 2.6.1. Details and Materials The town being small and with a small population does not have much information circulating globally. However, the Town Council’s website and the British History Online are good materials to gather information on the small town. Other relevant details about the area can be found from the local tourist firms in the area. (Current aerial view of Wivenhoe, 2012. [Online] Available at: http://maps.google.co.ke/maps) 3. Conclusion Wivenhoe is a region that is rich in culture mixed with development. The main problem with the area is that there is a bit of congestion in terms of space. This limits the area from further developments such as building of more houses as well as expanding the roads. A research carried out by the Town Council in 2008 showed that traffic is the main problem in the area followed by affordability of residential homes. The area also has an interesting ecology especially after the river treatment plan was established. The area also has two prosperous shipyards that complement the town alongside offering employment opportunities for the residents. The houses in the area are unique with most of them being made of red brick creating a picturesque image of the town. Apart from the marshland areas along the riverbanks, the rest of the town is not affected greatly by the floods. The town is, therefore, generally a tourist destination that is worth exploring even more. 4. Reflection Wivenhoe is an interesting location to carry on an urban analysis. However, the main challenge is that there is limitation of useful information on the area that one can use. There are not many researches that have been carried out in the area, which could help in writing an analysis report of the town. References Peers, D., 2009, January. Once upon a time in ... Wivenhoe: Essex life (Archant), pp. 61–64. Baggs, A. P., 1995. V.C.H. Essex, ii, p. 349. British History Online, 2012. Wivenhoe. University of London & History of Parliament Trust. [Online] Available at: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=15280 [Accessed 3 Oct. 2012]. White’s Directory, 1848. History of Wivenhoe. [Online] Available at: http://www.historyhouse.co.uk/placeW/essexw31a.html [Accessed 2 Oct. 2012]. Essex Waste Management Partnership, 2008. Waste strategy: design Information. Outline Business Case. [Online] Available at: http://www.essex.gov.uk/Environment%20Planning/Recycling-Waste/Waste-Strategy/Documents/Appendix_23.pdf [Accessed 3 Oct. 2012]. Vaughn & Blyth, 2012. Oakwood Grove, the Avenue, Wivenhoe. Oakwood Grove Final Brochure. [Online] Available at: http://www.fennwright.co.uk/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Oakwood%20Grove%20Final%20Brochure(1).pdf [Accessed 2 Oct. 2012]. The Wivenhoe Town Council, 2008. Wivenhoe Town plan research report. [Online] Available at: http://tmf.colchester.gov.uk/servedoc.asp?filename=CORP_LDF_02DEC08_Wivenhoe_TP.pdf [Accessed 2 Oct. 2012]. The Wivenhoe Encyclopedia, 2012. About Wivenhoe: a delightful secret. [Online] Available at: http://www.wivenhoe.gov.uk/About_Wivenhoe/about_wivenhoe.htm [Accessed 3 Oct. 2012]. Read More