TV presenter’s plan for veterans’ village narrowly wins go-ahead
NICK KNOWLES’S plans to build the UK’s first veterans’ village have been narrowly approved.
Hull City Council’s planning committee approved the Hull 4 Heroes project, set to be built off Coronation Road North on Setting Dyke, by seven votes to five.
The brainchild of the BBC presenter, plans for the village include 48 homes, community spaces, training and support facilities, a cafe and outdoor spaces that would be open to the public.
It is designed to give veterans a place to live while they adapt to civilian life and will be the first development of its kind in the country.
But councillors were split on whether to support the development.
Some said it would give expersonnel and their families the support they needed while keeping some of Setting Dyke open for visitors.
The village for veterans is the brainchild of the television presenter.
Others said it would effectively create a “garrison” on Hull’s outskirts which would isolate its residents, many of whom would be suffering from mental health problems such as PTSD.
Several residents living near to the site objected over repeated flooding which led in part to the former Setting Dyke
Secondary School being demolished.
Others said they were against losing Setting Dyke as a community green space which they have worked to maintain and which is home to endangered wildlife.
Mr Knowles, famous for presenting shows like DIY SOS, told councillors it would fit into the city’s tradition of helping veterans.
He said worries that veterans would not be able to integrate into the wider community were unfounded.
“Hull has a proud history of being involved with the military and with helping veterans,” he said.
“To suggest that they’re not the right kind of people to bring into the area is unfair.
“The plans would see the green area not only preserved but enhanced. We’re not talking about cutting any trees down, more will be planted.”