Isle of Wight-service provision on a small island in southern England A good way of comparing the population thresholds of different services is to carry out a land use survey. Figure D and graph E show results of a survey of service provision for the Isle of Wight, which has a population of 138 400. Its largest town, the coastal holiday resort of Ryde, has 18 700 inhabitants. Photo C shows the town of Ryde. Because each type and level of service has its own population threshold, it also requires a minimum area from which enough people can be drawn. This is called its catchment area. Low order goods such as bread and newspapers, which are cheap and bought frequently, have much smaller catchment areas than high order (expensive) items like beds and cars. Another term for 'catchment area' is sphere of influence. Yarmouth. Case study 3 ENGLAND West East 5 18 10 5 11 3 Cowes Cowes Ryde Freshwater 2 (1) Newport 521171-88 Bembridge Sandown o town 1-2,000 o town 2-5,000 o town 5-10,000 O town 10-20,000 Supermarkets Medical (3) Shanklin Ventnor 2 8 2 Hairdressing Shoe shops Educational Financial Distribution of services on the Isle of Wight 301 C An aerial view of Ryde Number of units 5 10 15 Food Financial Medical Educational Other Shops- excluding food 25- 20 The Isle of Wight also has one of each of: Citizens' Advice Bureau, college, hospice, large department store and law courts. Jewellers Local stores Estate agents Banks Doctor's surgeries Opticians Chemists Fast-food takeaways Post offices Libraries Dental surgeries Shoe shops Hospitals Secondary schools Type of service E The number of businesses in some of the Isle of Wight's different kinds of services






1. Looking at the map examine the factors that have contributed to the formation of settlements on the Isle of Wight
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