Network Rail has submitted a Listed Building Consent application to Isle of Wight Council for three sets of works at Ryde Pier Head Railway Station – replacing the asbestos canopy roof, renewing the timber walkway from platform to track level, and permanently fencing off a partially collapsed refuge area.
Why listed building consent is needed
The railway pier is not itself listed, but sits physically attached to the Promenade Pier, which has held Grade II listed status since 1976.
That attachment means any alterations to the railway pier automatically require listed building consent, even where the works would otherwise be permitted under railway operational development rules.
What Network Rail is proposing
The asbestos canopy roof over the platforms has deteriorated to the point where Network Rail describes it as “becoming a public safety risk”.
The company proposes to replace it with 0.9mm corrugated aluminium sheeting – goose grey on the outside, traffic white on the underside – laid over a layer of EPDM rubber between the new sheets and the existing purlins.
The existing rafters, fascias and columns will remain untouched.
The timber walkway connecting the platform to track level will see its worn planks, anti-slip flooring and bearers stripped out, with the underlying joists retained.
New EKKI hardwood planks will fix to those joists, topped with solid grey GRP panels matching the material already installed in other sections of the pier.
The third element involves a small refuge area jutting out from the side of the pier alongside a former track that is no longer in use.
Its floor has already collapsed into the sea, temporary Heras fencing currently blocks access, and Network Rail wants to remove everything above the steel cross-head and extend the edge fence permanently across the opening.
Why not during the line closures?
The construction methodology document, prepared by contractor Octavius, confirms that asbestos removal will take place when the station is closed, and that the walkway renewal will proceed one plank at a time without closing the line.
What the application does not address is why works requiring station closures were not coordinated with the extended line closures that Island Line passengers have already endured in recent years for other infrastructure works on the route.
NR’s response
OnTheWight have put the question to Network Rail and three weeks after asking, a spokesperson for the organisation replied,
“Our plans to refurbish the canopy and platform ramp at Ryde Pier Head do not involve the closure of the station. We have not been able to carry out works previously as we were still needing to secure the appropriate level of funding for the work to take place, which we have now secured.”
Rain noise: an unanswered question
Nothing in the application – not the heritage statement, the construction methodology, or any of the technical drawings – addresses acoustic performance or rain noise mitigation.
At 0.9mm thickness, the replacement aluminium roof sits at the thinner end of the range for corrugated metal roofing. The EPDM rubber layer between the new sheets and the purlins serves as weatherproofing, not sound insulation.
It’s therefore possible that passengers waiting on the platform under that canopy during heavy rain will experience a considerably noisier environment than exists today under the existing – albeit deteriorating and hazardous – asbestos sheets.
View the plans
You can view the plans on the council’s planning register (26/00433/LBC).
The public consultation runs until 11th May 2026, and a decision is due by 22nd May 2026.
Article edit
11.27am 5th May 2026 – NR comment added
