Public backing for 'impressive' urban village plan

Michael Hagan said the city centre needed the proposed East Bank Urban Village

People have been giving their views on plans for an "urban village" on the banks of the River Hull.

About 850 homes could be built on brownfield land to the east of the city centre, near Drypool Bridge.

Hull City Council and its development partner, ECF, are holding a series of consultations about the project, which is being supported by almost £10m from the government's Levelling Up Partnership.

One visitor to the meeting at Hull's Victoria Dock Village Hall, Michael Hagan, described the proposed scheme as "quite an impressive development".

About 850 homes could be built as part of the development on the banks of the River Hull

Mr Hagan said although he had concerns about the viability of the proposed shops and possible parking problems, it was "something that the city centre needs".

"The city needs people in the city," he said.

"This is one way of getting people actually living in there so that the city isn't dead from four o'clock."

"I was recently in Newcastle and I was quite surprised that at 20:30 BST in the evening the city centre was buzzing, absolutely buzzing.

"Lots of restaurants, people about sitting and enjoying themselves."

Steve Lack described the plans as "positive"

Steve Lack, who lives on Victoria Dock, said: "I think it's really positive.

"Obviously, something needs to be done with that site. It's good that there's a mix of housing going up.

"I think shops and cafes would be very welcome because there's a lot of footfall going through there anyway, going over the Scale Lane Bridge."

Stuart Johnson, from east Hull, said the developers should look at using lock gates to keep the water levels constant in the tidal River Hull.

"At the moment, at low tide, it's just like a mud bank," he said.

"It looks terrible and there's lots of rubbish in there and all sorts."

Stuart Johnson suggested lock gates to keep the water level constant

Overall, Mr Johnson said he was "impressed" by the plans.

"Hull does tend to get a lot of negative press," he said.

"I'm sure this will help and it's attached to the old town as well. The whole area would benefit from it."

The consultation will run until 8 October.

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