Should Howden be ‘pedestrianised’?
EAST RIDING COUNCIL BEGINS CONSULTATION
EAST Riding Council is undertaking a consultation on whether to ban cars from two of Howden’s central streets to boost trading, tackle congestion and improve safety.
The consultation, which runs until Wednesday, February 17, is open for comment on whether Market Place and High Bridge should be closed to traffic for a year or until coronavirus restrictions end.
East Riding Council said in a statement the proposals were being considered to improve pedestrian safety and to get more shoppers into Howden’s town centre.
Council economic development portfolio holder Cllr Victoria Aitken said Howden had some of the smallest pavements in the East Riding making social distancing difficult.
The proposals come as the council looks to help high streets recover from Covid-19’s economic fallout.
The consultation floats three options which are to close just Market Place, shut that street and High Bridge or do nothing.
Cllr Aitken said: “We know that now is the time, under the new normal, to boost consumer confidence and make our high streets prosperous.
“So by sharing these consultation proposals we want to ensure that the confidence in safety does not decrease when the high streets reopen.”
An Experimental Traffic Order would be imposed on one or both of the streets depending on the results of the consultation.
The consultation is backed by the government’s Reopening High Streets Safely Fund, itself backed by European Regional Development Funding.
A HULL adrenaline junkie is set to become the first man from the city to compete in national championships for one of driving’s most hair-raising disciplines.
Trevor Fileman, 35, of Kingswood, says he is “addicted” to drifting - one of the more dramatic forms of motor racing.
Drifting sees drivers getting scored for their speed, flair and the angle of their car as they screech round corners at high speed, leaving plenty of rubber in their wake.
Videos shared by Trevor, whose day job is as a mechanic in North Bransholme, show him tearing around corners on a track in Teess ide in preparation for his fi rst appearance at the British Drift Championship in April, making him the first person from Hull to complete.
After getting the bug when trying out in a friend’s car seven years ago, he went on to make big decisions on his battle to the top.
“I sold my daily car at the time and bought a project car from there. It’s been a bit of an addiction since,” he said.
“It’s like no other thing. I’ve ridden motocross and done ice hockey, but for adrenaline there’s nothing like it. It’s knowing you’re completely in control of a car that’s completely out of control.
“A friend of mine used to do it years ago. He let me do it once in his car and I was addicted from there on.
“It’s absolutely massive in America. That’s where all the top drivers end up going. You can end up in the European Championship if you do well at the British Drift Championship. Some of the top guys from there can then go to America.”
Trevor’s 400 horsepower machine sees him hit high speeds as he flies around the circuit, but with drifting, it’s all about style and not the stopwatch.
He says the sport, which is far more popular in the US, can be best compared to “figure skating in a car”.
“You get judged on your flair, angle and speed as you go through trigger points on the track,” Trevor said.
“It’s not a timed race at all. You get two qualifying runs. The nearest way to describe it is like figure skating in a car.
“I’m in a lucky position to be given a Pro 2 permit, which is judged on what they know I am capable of.”
Trevor’s first event in the championship is in Coventry on April 17 and 18, before trips to Middlesbrough, Scotland and Wigan.
Each event can cost hundreds of pounds to compete in given the amount of tyres drifting can eat through and the strain on the engine, as well as travel and accommodation costs.
Trevor is now looking for sponsors who can support him as he aims to make it on the national stage.