Castle Street revamp could be shelved
Fears are growing that long-awaited plans to upgrade Hull's busiest road could be shelved.
City leaders have been lobbying for the proposed £188m scheme by the Highways Agency for Castle Street to be given funding by the Government.
-
A busy Castle Street
But there are increasing concerns that it could fall victim to future public spending cuts.
Local authorities are being told to expect cuts of up to 40 per cent in spending on major capital highways projects by the Department for Transport over the next five years.
Despite repeatedly being identified as a regional priority, the Castle Street scheme is now being re-assessed along with two other projects.
They include a rival road scheme on the South Bank and a tramways project in Leeds.
Mike Ibbotson, the city council's transport manager, said the competing proposals were now effectively part of a regional "beauty contest".
He also admitted council officials had recently started looking at alternative options should funding for Castle Street fail to materialise.
He said: "The long-term scheme for Castle Street is now in a beauty contest with other schemes in the region before being taken to the next stage by the Government.
"We need to be thinking what happens if Castle Street is delayed again and what happens in the nightmare scenario of it not going forward at all.
"Any plan B will be a compromise, but even a cheap and cheerful stop-gap will prove difficult to deliver."
Speaking at a city council environment and transport scrutiny commission, Mr Ibbotson said it was now unlikely that any announcement on funding support would be made before the General Election.
"We have got firm ideas for options that are available but we are reluctant about going public at the moment because we want Castle Street to happen.
"If we did go public with a plan B, it would be the kiss of death of Castle Street."
Councillor John Fareham said: "I do not think Castle Street is going to happen."
16 Comments
View all
by SAL, West Hull
Friday, February 05 2010, 6:06PM
“Let me start by saying that I'm flattered. Not one reply but two! And made during what could only be described as "precious cuddle time".
Now on to your reply. Your analogy does not work.
My kettle only impacts upon me and my family. Your car and its needs, namely the Castle Street redevelopment, do not impact only upon you (and other motorists).
My kettle will be consigned to the scrap heap long before I'm dead and buried (hopefully I'm not tempting fate here), whereas your championed Castle Street redevelopment will probably be around long after you and your car have slipped their mortal coil.
And in direct answer to your question, yes I would care about my kettles efficiency if it was going to have a negative affect on the aesthetics of this city for next 100 year like the Castle Street plans are going to.
This redevelopment is a golden opportunity to enhance the town centre and its amenities, and settling for second best would have huge ramifications for the future development of this city. The two preferred options are tantamount to build a concrete wall or digging a gapping moat between the city centre and its greatest asset, the marina. But that's okay so long as it shaves a few minutes off of journey times I suppose.
I'd like to end by saying that ad hominem attacks are always very telling, and as for your Sierra Leone reference, I can only say that I'm not surprised.”
by Lilly, East Hull
Thursday, February 04 2010, 6:47PM
“As for the public consultation SAL, we were given 2 choices and every household in the area got a vote on them.
I didnt like either for what its worth! However if either DO ensure that this road works better in the future then id go for it! YES because i dont want to be stuck in traffic....Why shouldnt people want to get home earlier from work? I appreciate some people dread going home (Im guessing YOURE one of those people) however the rest of us wanna get cuddled up on the sofa to our better half and make the most of what little free time we get in this country - dont get me started on how we get screwed on working hours compared to the rest of europe!!!”
by Lilly, East Hull
Thursday, February 04 2010, 6:40PM
“Sal answer me a question please, what grade is your kettle in terms of efficiency? Is it an A? Does it boil using minimum electricity? Do you care?? Of course you dont, you just want it to boil!!!
Thats what car users want, a road that flows and is safe!! Its the planners job to sort out pedestrian areas, bridges, subways and the like!
Why should car users care about anything else? Dont we all pay enough taxes to employ (council and highways) staff to do this for us?
Its YOUR attitude I find depressing, youre obviously the kind of person who peeks out of his curtains every time you hear a noise......”
by SAL, West Hull
Thursday, February 04 2010, 5:03PM
“Thank god for that!
I don't know how many daily mail readers bothered to attend the Castle Street public consultation exhibition but the two preferred options were terrible. They were also, and I think not coincidently, the cheapest of the proposals!
It seems that no attention has been paid to the part the marina could, should and must to play in the revitalisation of Hull. The marina must be reconnected to the city centre. Just look at the success of last years freedom festival! Both of the preferred options actually manage to increase the already unacceptable severance, especially for pedestrians.
As far as the Highways agency is concerned the main goal of this development is to increase the speed at which goods from the ferries and docks can be transported out of Hull and to the rest of Britain.
Lastly, from some of the other posts it seems that there are a lot of people in Hull who only care about how long it takes them to get home from work on a night before they can have their tea.
Very depressing.”
by Phil McCrack, East Riding
Thursday, February 04 2010, 3:06PM
“Yet another contentious report quickly relegated from the front page.”