Business park plan put on hold over residents’ fears
FLOODING, CONGESTION AND POLLUTION CONCERNS RAISED
PLANS for a huge business park near Hedon have been deferred and further public consultation is in the pipeline to address residents’ concerns.
East Riding Council’s Planning Committee voted unanimously to put plans for the Humber International Enterprise Park in Hedon Haven on hold for consultation on the site and a proposed new road.
David Morris, speaking for applicant Associated British Ports (ABP), told the committee several national and international companies had already shown interest in moving to the site if it goes ahead.
Mr Morris added £350m value for the county and the creation of up to 6,500 jobs would benefit villages close to the development planned next to Saltends Chemical Park.
But South West Holderness ward member Cllr John Dennis told the committee the development would be bigger than the town of Hedon and the village of Paull combined.
Resident Andrew Nicholson told councillors he and others feared its size would increase flooding, congest local roads and cause noise and air pollution in the developer’s pursuit of “private gain”.
ABP is set to hold further talks with locals on the park and a new road from Hull Road to Paull Road and present revised plans to councillors before a further decision.
An ABP spokesperson said following the meeting they were “frustrated” by the decision but remained confident it would eventually be approved.
The spokesperson said: “If approved, this project could potentially bring thousands of new jobs to Hull and the East Riding and could have a huge beneficial effect for local businesses who would become suppliers to the new investment.”
The council is also awaiting responses from Highways England on how they predict the development would impact on local roads.
The site south west of Hedon bypass earmarked for the development in the initial or outline plans is included in the Humber Enterprise Zone.
Mr Morris told the committee: “The site has been allocated for employment use since the 1950s.
“We’re committed to the area and we’ve made changes to the plans since they were originally submitted after speaking with locals.
“The south-west corner of the site is now a no building zone and we’ve expanded the Newton Garth habitat area by 20 hectares, making hectares in total.
“The total development area has been reduced by 22 per cent, and visibility of the Hedon and Paull churches will also be maintained.
“We’re going to provide storage for flood water to keep those on and off site safe.”
Cllr Dennis said: “This development would be built on the last bit of countryside between existing industry, Hedon and Paull, it would be bigger than the two of them combined.
“Residents have expressed many concerns, they chose to live in the country, not in a primarily industrial area.
“Local parish councils accept some development will take place here because it’s allocated land, but industry has been allowed to spill out into our ward.”
Mr Nicholson said: “This business park would be the size of Monaco.
“If it goes wrong, it will affect our children and grandchildren. The plans show a substantial loss of land between Salt End and Hedon, this is unacceptable.
“It would be incredibly sad for Hedon and Paull if this is passed.”
Committee chair Cllr David Tucker said: “Lots of concerns have been raised about this, the resident and applicant have also made some very pertinent points.
“This is a huge development for the area, especially on the back of the recently approved Yorkshire Energy Park.
“Public engagement will be key, if they can be brought on board then this will transition into a good plan and well-needed development. The jobs are needed, especially in these times.” it 56
THE Prime Minister has provided an update on when the country will come out of lockdown following a successful rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.
Boris Johnson has said he will set out a road map on February 22 for easing restrictions across the country.
The third lockdown has been in force since January 5. And it will likely be well into the spring before we see the reopening of pubs and restaurants.
It is hoped that schools will reopen on March 8, but that is very much dependent on the effectiveness in the Covid-19 vaccination programme with reducing cases and deaths.
It is anticipated that the Government will consider a three-phase approach, but it will be a slow, gradual process as hospitalisations and deaths remain high, despite a drop in cases.
On Friday night, Mr Johnson warned that it is “still early days” to start talking about opening up society amid new reports about the Government’s plans for household mixing, schools, universities, pubs and restaurants.
Last weekend, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was hopeful of a “free great British summer”.
1 Schools
Ministers are said to be drawing up plans to stagger the return of children to classrooms in England from March 8, the target date set by the Prime Minister.
Younger primary school pupils are expected to be among those given priority.
The Government is considering plans to lengthen the school day to help children catch up from the disruption of the pandemic, it has been reported.
The Telegraph said that officials at the Department for Education (DFE) are considering multiple proposals to help children try to recover lost learning due to school closures.
This could include charities and volunteers running out-of-hours classes and extra-curricular activities, meaning teachers may not be required to stay late.
DFE officials are reportedly examining the cost-effectiveness
2 and evidence of adding extra classes at the start and end of the day.
Robert Halfon, chairman of the Education Select Committee, told the paper: “They are definitely considering all these ideas. I think they are receptive and thinking about it seriously.”
The Department for Education did not comment on the proposals, but a Government spokesperson said: “The Government will work with parents, teachers and schools to develop a long-term plan to make sure pupils have the chance to make up their lost education over the course of this parliament.”
The devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland have both announced that some primary schools year groups will return by February 22.
2 Household mixing
Under the current rules, it is illegal to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of a household or support bubble.
People cannot leave their homes for recreational or leisure purposes such as for a picnic or a social meeting.
They can exercise with those within their support bubble, if they are legally permitted to form one, or a childcare bubble, or with one person from another household when on their own.
Everyone must stay two metres apart from anyone not in their household or bubble.
Under the three-phase road map, some outdoor socialising is expected to be allowed in March, the Telegraph reported.
3 Universities
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is drawing up plans for a staggered return to universities in March, the Guardian reported.
A review is expected later this month.
The report claims the Education Secretary is expected to announce on February 22 that final-year students in practical subjects will be able to return to face-to-face teaching.
Students studying other subjects would be expected to follow soon afterwards.
But vice-chancellors warned that many students were unlikely to return to campuses before summer.
4 Pubs, restaurants and cafés
Reports this weekend have claimed the Government may allow pubs and restaurants to reopen after Easter in April as long as they agree not to sell alcohol.
The Sun reported that ministers are preparing to allow pubs to serve takeaway pints in April before fully reopening in May.
Restrictions such as the 10pm curfew and “substantial meal” requirement will be scrapped as part of a “simplification” of rules to ease confusion, the paper suggested.
Punters will be encouraged to drink outdoors.
A temporary “booze ban” in April – meaning dry pubs and restaurants – is one proposal being considered as part of the three-phase road map, the Telegraph said.
The alcohol ban is being considered to allay concerns from England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and others, the report added.
They are said to be concerned about punters’ ability to social distance when drinking.
A senior Government source was dismissive about the idea, telling
PA: “We are not going to open pubs that can’t sell booze. What would be the point of that?”
British Beer & Pub Association chief executive Emma Mcclarkin said: “Opening pubs without selling alcohol is not ‘reopening’ pubs at all.”
The alternative to an alcohol ban would be to delay the reopening of pubs and restaurants until later in the year until millions more are vaccinated against Covid-19, the Telegraph reported.
Cafés could be allowed to fully reopen earlier.
5 Non-essential shops
The Times reported that non-essential shops were being pencilled in for reopening in April by Downing Street.
Currently, only essential shops, such as supermarkets and chemists, are allowed to be open.
6 Summer holidays
It is said the Government is working on vaccine passports which could allow British tourists to go on summer holidays abroad.
The certificates would help tourists to prove they are vaccinated against Covid-19.
Greece and Spain are among the countries expected to reopen their borders to UK holidaymakers in a few months.
HULL-BASED Wykeland Group has donated 65 tablet devices to four primary schools in the city so children without access to appropriate technology can learn from home during lockdown.
The donations have been made to Longhill, Chiltern, Collingwood and Thoresby primaries, all of which needed help to provide the families of some of their pupils with the devices to access online materials for home learning.
The schools have distributed the Lenovo tablets to families in need of support, meaning the children are now able to join remote lessons, interact with their teachers and see their friends on screen.
Longhill Primary School, in east Hull, received 15 tablets.
Executive headteacher Mark Batty said: “Remote learning has proved
Ian Franks, finance director at Wykeland Group, delivering 20 tablet devices to Jacqueline Marshall, head of school at Chiltern Primary an immense challenge for schools and families during the pandemic.
“Having enough devices to deliver online learning to our children has been an ongoing difficulty and the tablets donated by Wykeland have gone directly to families of our Year 1 children.
“Within a day of the devices going into homes, our children were already accessing their learning and engaging with staff, which was great to see.
“These devices will help ensure no child will be left behind.”
Jacqueline Marshall, head of school at
Chiltern Primary in west Hull, said the 20 tablets they received were a significant boost at a time of unprecedented challenge posed by Covid-19.
“I’d just like to say a huge thank you to Wykeland, on behalf of all the staff and children at the school, for their kind generosity,” she said.
“The tablets are already being used by our families, helping the children access their home learning during this very difficult time.”
Fifteen devices were given to Collingwood Primary School, in the city centre. Head of school Laura Baxter said: “The generosity and overwhelming support we’ve received from Wykeland has made a huge difference to the number of children who are accessing home learning.
“Now, children who didn’t have the technology before are able to join lessons, get feedback from their teacher and see their classmates.
“Home learning can be challenging for parents but, thanks to Wykeland, they now have one less thing to worry about as their children have the tools to access and complete their work in the same way as everyone else.”
Francesca Sinfield, assistant headteacher at Thoresby Primary School in west Hull, said: “The donation of 15 tablets from Wykeland came at just the right time for us.
“They’ve made a huge difference to those families who have received them. The children are now able to access live lessons, upload work and receive feedback from their teachers.
“More importantly, it has enabled them to engage with their peers and interact with their community at this time.”
All four schools have strong links with Hull-based regeneration leader Wykeland, either through partnerships around developments or via the Run With It charity, which is based at the KCOM Stadium. Wykeland is a major supporter of the charity and managing director Dominic Gibbons has been chair of trustees since the charity’s inception.
Run With It works to help improve literacy and numeracy across the city, using the stadium as a classroom, with packages of support for identified groups of different ages and abilities.
Mr Gibbons said Wykeland was committed to the continued support of schools in its home city.
“We fully appreciate what an incredibly challenging time this is and we wanted to do something we knew would make a positive and immediate difference to the schools, the children and their families,” he said.
“This continues our long-term support for local schools and it’s great to hear the tablets were very quickly distributed to families and put to use to ensure none of their children are disadvantaged by not having the technology they need.
“I also want to pass on our thanks to our IT provider Procom who pulled out all the stops to source the tablets so we were able to deliver them to the schools in the second week of January.”
Wykeland is at the forefront of regeneration and investment across Hull and the wider Humber region.
The company’s flagship schemes include the expanding Melton West business park in East Yorkshire, the Bridgehead development close to the Humber Bridge and the @Thedock tech campus in the city’s Fruit Market.
Wykeland is also part of the Wykeland Beal joint venture with housebuilder Beal Homes, which has transformed the Fruit Market, in partnership with Hull City Council.