What makes you think that they are going to happen now, despite the works on the footbridge, which to my interest is about 3 years from first being mooted, maybe more, I lose interest when investment in Hull is mentioned, chicken feed compared to other places of a similar size. Northern Powerhouse anyone?
It could go pear-shaped again, it's obviously been delayed several times already, but Highways England still have a March 2020 start date on their website. As for the lack of development in Hull, there's the Fruit Market homes, the new C4Di extension, the new Arco HQ, the Queens Gardens development, several developments on George Street, the K2 development on Bond Street and the major development on market Place. In fact, I can't remember there ever being so many developments in my lifetime. I seem to remember we had a similar discussion to this, when you said the City of Culture would be a load of ****.
Nope I didn't say it would be **** and I think you will find that many posts after the start of the CoC were very praiseworthy of the event, I went to plenty of them, but that is nothing to do with subject we are talking about now, the stuff you mention wouldn't pay for the consultants fees to what is going on elsewhere. I did say that we are very good at artists impressions, which is saying that we have all the pretty drawings but then nothing. At the moment Edwin Davis's is being stripped of asbestos, and as of yet I don't recall where all the funding for the development is coming from. C4Di extension, c'mon OLM please, The Shard? Gherkin? Queens Gardens development? remind me, the old police station? Oh and I won't mention the old flour mill, well yes I will, Radisson Blue? Arco, yep good for them, as for George St, a bit baffled there, where? TSB as was? K2 was a refurb job not new build and yes it is an improvement, as was the New Theatre, but we are still a long way from a regeneration. And I have yet to see a cruise ship dock yet, which is just as well as there is yet to be the much vaunted docking facilities.
Jesus wept, you're not happy with all the developments currently going on in Hull because they're not The Shard. I only mentioned developments that were currently proceeding, I never mentioned Edwin Davis, or anywhere else that might not happen. Queens Gardens, 94 new apartments... please log in to view this image King William House - Market Street - Major restaurant/bar development, with 30 apartments above... please log in to view this image Fruit Market - £80m development, shops, restaurants and 101 new homes... please log in to view this image
Edwin Davis is proceeding as we speak, in preparation for demolition, but will I be happy with the level of development in Hull, no. I have observed, over many years, and many trips through National Coach Holidays, to all corners of the UK, how much Hull is slipping behind other cities. The Shard, and Gherkin were just an example of the level of investment which we can only dream of. And don't forget we only got the Humber Bridge as a bribe, I don't know what the total amount of current investment is in Hull but since WW2 we have been short changed, I've looking up in the archives in the History Centres in Hull.
It's accelerating and as the major nationals go they will take smaller stores with them. Things could get rough very quickly in Hull.
I don't know why you're so shocked, we've been persistently underfunded by the government for some time. My father used to work for a well known surveyors in Hull for a long time (he now works at the council in a consultancy role) and I can tell you that given what we've had to spend, the works that have gone on and that are planned are impressive. You can't compare Hull to other cities because it doesn't get the funding that others do. We aren't as big as Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool or Birmingham, so hopes for our city being as cosmopolitan as they are are virtually nil. I went to uni in Leicester, a similar city to us in terms of funding and size and they're doing the same thing. Funding into DMU has allowed the university area to become more of a public domain. Their high street moving towards the impressive Highcross area is brilliant and makes the area feel cleaner and more accessible to families. It's something I wish we would do with Jameson St, but I think the improvements to the square are decent enough given what we had to spend. What we can do is gentrify certain areas to allow for business to grow over time. The fruit market has been the main focus because it's stood as wasted space for years. The space you seem to allude to isn't empty, it doesn't look great, but it's not empty. I once mentioned to dad that the area immediately off the station, on Ferensway, should have been a priority as it's the first thing travellers see when they enter the city by rail. It was looked at, but it was when St Stephen's was being built and the disruption down that street was a major pain in the arse already. I was also 15 at the time and not a surveyor, so he was being polite even listening to me . I'm quite happy with the news that the road from the Castle Hill roundabout at Cottingham to Beverley is to be entirely Dual Carriageway and work is set to begin this year. Disruptive in the short term, but long term it's going to ease the horrendous traffic concerns going into Beverley in a morning and evening.
Sterling , you and C'mon ref agree with each other and I don't think he is 'shocked' by the lack of funding for Hull
But it's not worth moaning about. We do what we can with what we're given, we're dealt a bum hand but what we have done with the money is pretty impressive.
Boots are soon opening a huge unit in St Stephens, the closure of the other two city centre stores was inevitable.
Agreed, but none the less we are losing a lot of the bigger operators and we didn't have an enormous amount to start with compared to bigger cities