Itchen - a typically English City Journal

[GaryReggae 81]

Welcome to my very first City Journal, based in the county of Itchen. Itchen is a large and varied region with the coast on two sides to the East and West and neighbouring counties to the North and South. The county is split by the Chetwynd Mountain Range which runs North - South.

Later on, we will be exploring the Itchen region and visiting its many attractions, however we will start our journey by having a look at the recent history of the largest city and indeed the County Town, Itchenham.

Itchenham is strategically located in the Itchen region where the River Itchen splits into two and there has been a small settlement on the site for thousands of years. However, Itchenham was nothing more than a small village surrounded by farmland until the Industrial Revolution brought about the invention of Railways. The strategic central location of Itchenham made it an ideal location for the Itchenham Railway Co (long defunct) to set up it's main manufacturing and maintenance works. Thousands of new houses were constructed to accomodate the railway workers and of course the rest of the town sprang up around it. Railway lines radiate from the town in all directions and there are several suburban stations however all the lines terminate in the world famous Itchenham Cross terminus station.

A town based on industry is never going to be particularly attractive and indeed Itchenham has long had a reputation of being run-down and grim. The final straw came for the town when the town centre suffered a direct hit from enemy bombers during World War 2, destroying most of the thriving Victorian commercial district. Fortunately, the fine Victorian Market Hall and the grand terminus railway station survived.

There is also a successful farming industry in Itchenham and it is particularly famous for its flowers.

The year is 1955. Let's have a look around the city.

An aerial photo of the town, circa 1955.



The Central Business District (CBD), heavily bombed. An attempt at rebuilding has been made to the West of the CBD however even though the war ended ten years ago, most of the rubble has been left untouched. Commerce has taken a back seat due to the need for a lot of new housing after the war. The modern Casino is the only high rise building in the town, built in 1952 to try and lift the spirits of the city.



The central terminus railway station. The road leading to Northam (far left) is one of the most heavily congested roads in the entire town.



The fine Market Hall and Itchenham Cross Square.



The Railway Works, the engine of Itchenham. The Works is so large that it has its own power station!



A pleasant farming area to the South of the town.



Shirley, a suburb of Itchenham but almost a small town in its own right.



The Acacia Road Estate: A grand plan by the the council in the 1930s to create a leafy suburban utopia. Unfortunately, the housebuilders could see that suburban utopia and Itchenham do not mix so only a few of the luxurious semi detached houses (bottom of the pic below) intended for the estate were actually built.



Itchenham is host to two football teams and there is an intense rivalry between the teams. Itchenham Town FC, located just outside the town centre are by far the older club. However, recent form has been very poor and they were relegated to Division 2 last season.



Itchenham United FC were founded in 1890 and quickly became a major force in association football. They are currently in Division 1 and have won the league for the last three years running. Their ground, located West of Shirley was totally rebuilt in the 1930s and is one of the finest in the country.



Swaythling, another suburb. This is heavily industrialised and features lots of Victorian terraced housing. It is also home to the Docks. The recently built commuter airport is to the South of this suburb.



Victorian teraced housing in Swaythling



Post war housing. This area originally had Victorian terraced homes, however they were destroyed in the war and replaced with these comtemporary equivalents featuring all mod cons.



1955 was one of the most important years in the history of Itchenham. An Urban Renewal Committee was founded to look at ways of rebuilding the city. Their decisions turned a run down Victorian industrial town into the thriving metropolitan city Itchenham is today.

While health, education and public safety were at a very good standard in the city, there were horrendous air pollution and traffic problems. Particular traffic blackspots were the small 18th century river bridges as well as Northam Road and Marine Way. The committee decided on a revolutionary approach although one that was to drastically change the face of the city forever, this was to construct an Inner Ring Road, the intention being to keep traffic out of the CBD, effectively turning the city into a gigantic roundabout.

The construction of the ring road will be the subject of the next update, we'll start off at the docks in Swaythling and drive around the ring road, through the town centre to Shirley (it is not strictly a ring road yet as the link over the river to the west will be constucted at a later date if required as the aim of the road is mainly to channel traffic from the suburbs into the CBD.

Any comments on this CJ are most welcome!

[Alakazam 3]

Very Nice! Very Realistic! Congratulation! I'll keep an eye on this!

[MayorTim 16]

Very european, very VERY nice. Awesome work!

I especially like the bombed CBD, it adds a nice touch of realisim. Also, everything looks realistic, which I like.

Again, Awesome work!

[sloppet 3]

not so bad... nice start.. keep it up!!

[rp2005 165]

Why am I not surprised that you'd start your CJ in the mid-fifties?

I guess you'll have plenty of opportunity to revamp those bombed areas with some typical 60s redevelopment ...

 

Very nice start.

 

[Casper3141 60]

Wow, Awesome CJ I cant wait to see what develops next

[sc4player 1]

that's nice! love that post war housing shot

[Compromise 1]

A excellent start. Very realistic, look forward to it continueing.

[Cjah 15]

Excellent!!History in a C.J.!

I'm reallly happy you made a storyline and all of the bombed out areas make the city seem really like a post war city...Also with those great large housing by the industry make the area really scream growth and development...This city will certainly have a bright future just like this c.J.

 

Keep it up!

 

CJAH CJ Scale 9.0/10!!!One of the best this week!

[Kwakelaar 92]

I like the way you have started your CJ. Looking forward to the next update.

[Alkaola 18]

MAN this is AWEsome , the city is SMOKE and it seems ugly  , but man check the realism and beauty though i love this ,  it reminds me from Murmansk

[oroen 0]

You given yourself a lot of room to proceed from here. Very real, with a bit of everything, and nothing overly haughty.

[utora 0]

The post-war look really turns out very well! Interesting cj sofar, I agree with the others, it adds a lot of realism! You've made a promising start!

[jacqulina 162]

interesting

[sloppet 3]

I hope this CJ will become a really great Cj in the future...
The previous updates were very nice...
Keep up the great work with this CJ Good Luck!!
I hope that this will ben not my last post in this Cj... Once again good luck!

Regards,
SloppeT

[GaryReggae 81]

Thanks for the comments everyone! Before I launch into this next update I'd just like to say thanks to all the BATTers who have produced some great buildings which I'm using in this city. Gascooker, RP2005, Il Tonkso and Frogface come immediately to mind but there are many others as well!

OK, with no further ado, here's the lastest update:

The year is now 1965 and the new A300 Ring Road has been open for just over five years. Constructing it was a very controversial issue, hundreds of homes and businesses were pulled down to make way for the new road and it went way over the allocated budget due to what opposers to the scheme called 'moving the goalposts'. The original plan was to construct a simple dual carriageway around the CBD, Shirley and Swaythling, however the plan was changed at the last minute to make it more future proof and most of the A300 is instead 3 lane elevated motorway - Much more capacity than we will EVER need! complained Ms Mona Lott, leader of the Itcheners Against The Ring Road (IARR) campaign. Due to the overspending, a proposed bridge by the docks was not constructed, leaving a vital missing link in the road - however city chiefs insisted that all the traffic was to and from the CBD, not between Shirley and Swaythling. They also pointed out that the airport was now served by the new M31 motorway that linked in to the South of the ring road.

IARR point out that the road literally divided communities and wasted taxpayer's money - and this is partially true. The road cut right through the middle of the city and a number of properties built by the council literally five years before the road construction were destroyed to make way. However, traffic problems have majorly decreased since the new road has opened, although those coming off the ring road into the Central Business District (CBD) can encounter delays at busy times. Let's hit the road and go for a spin from one end to another, exploring the highlights on the way and noticing all the changes.

Junction 8: The Docks. This key link relieved terrible traffic congestion to the docks. The large building on the right is a brand new tyre factory designed to bring jobs to the nearby deprived area of Swaythling.



Junction 7: West Swaythling. The road to the left leads to a new housing estate and the the road on the right leads to Swaythling.



Junction 6: Maybush. The M31 Southern Motorway leads off to the South here. Drivers wanting the airport, research centre or convention centre should also take this junction. This is situated in the middle of a brand new housing estate. Unfortunately a fatal structural flaw was found with the new system built tower blocks so they were abandoned just three months after becoming occupied. They are now home to the local yobs and a few despondent pigeons.



Junction 5: South Swaythling. This is a perfect example of a place where the ring road has literally cut a swathe through a tradional community, totally dividing it in two. The road to the South goes is an alternative route to the airport for non-motorway traffic.



South Bridge: This bridge crosses the River Itchen. Constructing it was a major engineering challenge and at one stage, engineers deemed the project impossible, stating that it was an unsuitable grade for construction.



Junction 4: Highfield. This junction is an interesting design due to the railway line in close proximity to the ring road, therefore a conventional junction would not fit. This junction leads to Itchenham University



Junction 3: City Centre. By far the busiest junction and indeed a bottleneck during the rush hour. This connects to the Southern Inner City Gyratory, a simple dual carriageway circulating traffic around the heart of the city.


We'll now take a brief detour from the ring road and have a quick look at some of the changes in the CBD.

1. First of all, we've got to park somewhere. Fortunately, there are no less than three purpose built new car parks in the city, these all incorporate a bus station for easy interchange. This one is located on the new High Street. However, the architecture is certainly not to everyone's taste!



Talking of architecture, this building, Castleman House was fiercely criticised by local residents when it was put up for being 'ugly'. Mr I. P. Knightly of the South Central Itcheners Resident's Association commented It's an eyesore and it blots out the light!. Castleman House was designed by the Itchenham County Architects Department who also designed the tyre factory, city car parks, the central police headquarters, central museum and the dysfunctional tower blocks and the building is used for the council offices.



New retail and market buildings to the North of the CBD.



The remodelled Itchenham Cross Square. The original paving was recently dug up and replaced with contempoary paving slabs - much the the outcry of local residents. The square is rather dominated by the gigantic new Police HQ.



A general view of the CBD. The highest buildings are mainly hotels funded by the council, the big commercial property developers are not yet interested in investing in Itchenham although a renowned Telecommunications company has set up a high rise office block on Cross Street.



Going back onto the Ring Road, this is Junction 2: Cross Street. Exit here for the railway station (no parking at any time, customers must use the multistorey car parks and travel by bus) and for Banister Park and the army camp to the East of the city.



Junction 1: Northam: The oldest part of the ring road, hence the lower specification. This is ineffective and confusing as continuing over the flyover leads to Northam, to continue on the ring road, drivers have to exit on to the roundabout and turn left! There are no plans at present to replace this junction due to space constraints and the traffic volume does not currently warrant it.



North Bridge: This bridge crosses the River Hamble. Again, constructing it was considerably difficult. The bridge had to be raised up higher than is normal to allow river traffic underneath.



Junction 10: Shirley. We have come to the end of our journey I'm afraid. What happened to Junction 9 I hear you ask? Well this was to be situated to the West of Shirley and then go on to the proposed West Bridge however this was never built and so neither was Junction 9 - as it simply wouldn't lead anywhere.

I hope you've enjoyed this update! More soon!

[jacqulina 162]

great update

[Kwakelaar 92]

City-planning in the 1960's, I love it, and the parkinghouse looks great.

[Compromise 1]

Great update, I like the way you use the 1960's attitude to moterways. Are there going to be some Beeching Cuts next?

 

Here's your score for update 1 and 2:

 

Excellent things about this update which should be kept up: The realism of building attitudes and taking into account historical events.
 
Passable things about this update which could be improved: A updated slitley closer region view would be nice.
 
Bad things about this update which should be improved: N/A
 
Overall Rating: A B C D E F

                            ^ C+ Good update, keep it up.

City Journal Evaluation System (CJES) by Compromise.

 

As this CJ is progressing I will add it to my signiture soon.

[EnigmaticUK 1]

As a Coventry resident I love the way that the inept planners of the ring road have wreaked as much destruction on your city as the Luftwaffe managed a couple of decades earlier, the illogical layout of the ring-road itself and the amount of grim concrete.

Love the characteristic style of Castleman House as well - I recognise that you were the city planner responsible for BATting most of the brutalist monstrosities in your city but I don't recognise this building - is it on the STEX?

[frogface 354]

nice update about the ring road, the history is quite realistic

[GaryReggae 81]

Thanks for the replies folks!

Date: 5/25/2005 12:34:55 PM
Author: EnigmaticUK

Love the characteristic style of 'Castleman House' as well - I recognise that you were the city planner responsible for BATting most of the brutalist monstrosities in your city but I don't recognise this building - is it on the STEX?

quote>

No, not yet. That is one of my older buildings and I have improved my BAT skills a lot since then. However, I am planning to revamp it (and most of my other older BATs) and release them.

[GaryReggae 81]

Time for another update! The year is now 1990 and lots of things have changed around Itchenham although nothing on the scale of the major changes of the 1960s. Here are some of the major changes:

A two-lane bypass was constructed around the city in the 1970s. However, due to the fact that is carries all the cross-region traffic, it has been overloaded with traffic. A major scheme is currently underway to replace the bypass with a new motorway. However, the old road or at least a diversion has to remain open all the time so this is by no means an easy task. The photo below shows part of the work in progress. There will eventually be a junction where the roundabout is. This shot also shows one of the sprawling low density housing estates constructed in the 1980s.



The main High Street and some of the roads surrounding it have recently been pedestrianised. Initially local shopkeepers were concerned this waould cause them to lose trade, however this does not seem to have happened. The 1960s multistorey car park and bus station is considered a major eyesore and the council have threatened it with demolition as it stands in the way of plans to pedestrianise the middle section of the High Street.



The waterfront at the bottom of the High Street has recently been transformed from a derelict wasteland to an atractive park with a riverside esplanade. Shoppers can now stop here and admire the delightful view of the smoke-belching factories on the other side of the river and enjoy the smell of the filthy water.



One of several new high-tech industrial estates on the edge of the city, this one being located near the Airport which was recently upgraded to 'International' status. This estate benefits from a small pond to try and attract businesses to move in.



In 1979, a new Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher was elected to government. As well as single handedly destroying the Itchen County's coal mining industry (to the East of Itchenham), she privatised railway maintenance. Itchenham's railway works was closed three years ago and now stands abandoned and derelict. Thousands of city residents were made unemployed by the closure of the Works.

The council have drawn up plans for an ambitious new mixed use development on the prime city centre site however historians are campaigning for the historic round train shed to be saved from the bulldozers. This looks unlikely although there is the possibility that it could be turned into a museum dedicated to the city's industrial heritage. Environmentalists are also concerned as the land is almost certainly contaminated with toxic chemicals from the years of industrial use.



An aerial photo of the city.



A transport map, showing the progress of the bypass upgrade.

[ScottFTL 29]

GaryReggae, this is my first visit to Itchen - and I have to say well done. You really have a unique look and great story to tell. Keep it up!

[Kaze Progressa 1]

Am I the only one who's spotted the Southampton links? (Certainly the motorway/highway seems at times to be very similar to the M27, and the place names have been stolen en masse.)

Great CJ. It could almost count as a dystopian journal up with The Worst City Journal EVER - except this was realistic...

[GingerBlokey 30]

Urrghh what a hideously ugly city. So in that way it is extrodianily realistic. Its like Slough -- SC4

[Kwakelaar 92]

Seems like Itchen has a long way to go still, but the city-planners of the 90's are maybe up to the task?

[gascooker 4]

you have a very late 1960s modernist approach to town planning GR - Its very impressive how you have managed to capture this aesthetic in something as limiting as SC4. Very inspiring...

We need more UK estates, i reckon...

[SkyTearer 10]

Is it just me or is that water green............. oh and yeah that's an ok Cj, real different from what I normally see, seeing as I wasn't around in the 60's i cannot comment on that, but I can see a resemblence to Soviet building projects

[GaryReggae 81]

Thanks for the comments folks! There will be an update hopefully later this week (although I am busy designing some new high street shops at the moment) otherwise not for a couple of weeks as I am going on holiday.

Kaze Progressa: Yes, I was wondering when someone would spot the place names plagiarised from Southampton! I really should be a bit more original!

Kwakelaar: Yes, things are going to get a lot better in the 1990s in Itchen although the concrete car park is not going to go without a fight!

Gascooker Thanks, your terraced and suburban semi houses have really helperd with this although I wish the suburban semis would develop more, I want to grow a whole neighbourhood full of them and develop a massive suburban estate!

SkyTearer: Yes, the water is kind of green, it's one of the water texture MODS available on the STEX (can't remember who did it, might have been PEG?). It's actually a dark blue but when mixed with the pollution, it looks more like the river Thames (yuck!). It's a very realistic water texture though, it looks so much better than the MAXIS bright blue! Here in the UK the water always looks brown!!!