Wyke College extension application

John Fareham and John Abbott report that a planning application has been submitted for a two-storey extension to Wyke College premises.

Details of the application are now available on the Council website.  The College’s intention in having an extra building is to replace mobile classrooms being used for PE with proper facilities, to have decent science labs equal in facilities to the rest of the college, to have an open space for dance, performing arts and drama classes, and to have two spare classrooms ready for future increases in numbers.  Local residents wishing to express an opinion for or against the application may do so via the usual channels - – E-mails to dev.control@hullcc.gov.uk or letters to Planning Services, Kingston House, Bond Street, Hull, HU1 3ER. The application number to quote is 13/00127/FULL and comments should be submitted as soon as possible.

Over-50s exercise scheme

John Fareham and John Abbott have details of a proposed exercise scheme for the over-50s to be rolled out at a number of locations including Commonwealth Homes.

 At the time of writing the officers were still working out the internal arrangements to get the scheme going, but the idea is simple enough – a 12-week introductory programme to get residents to take up mental and physical exercise, after which the equipment provided for each location will stay there.  The project is set up in the belief that giving the mind and body something worthwhile to do is beneficial even after one has stopped working, and as soon as we have the start date we will of course let residents know.  It goes without saying, of course, that participation in the scheme will be wholly voluntary and nobody will have to take part if they aren’t well enough or just don’t want to.

Wet fish van application refused

John Fareham and John Abbott report that Hull City Council’s Licensing Committee have refused an application for a wet fish van to serve, amongst others, Newland Park, Barrington Avenue and Chanterlands Avenue North.

John Fareham objected in advance to this application as he felt that, in terms of the traffic regulations, neither Newland Park nor Barrington Avenue was a suitable place in terms of traffic and parking to station such a vehicle and that Chanterlands Avenue North would be an unsuitable location in terms of proximity to the cemetery. John Abbott as a member of Licensing Committee spelt out what this meant in more detail, on the assumption not all members of the Committee would be fully familiar with the area, and – noting that more clarity was required as to where exactly the wet fish van would be serving – the Committee agreed to refuse the application.

Hotham Road North potholes

John Fareham and John Abbott have arranged for work to be carried out to deal with Hotham Road North potholes.

Having been contacted about this matter by various local residents, we both contacted the officers to ask that something be done and furnished photographic evidence of the scale and nature of the problem. As the result of our efforts the work has now been completed.  It goes without saying that we will act on any further reports of carriageway damage—after all, as we have recently seen, the winter weather may not be over yet and snow and ice are not good for road surfaces.

Bricknell Avenue betting shop

John Fareham and John Abbott have details of a licensing application for a bookmakers’ shop to be sited among the Bricknell Avenue shops.

An application was submitted on 1^st February for a betting shop at 270 Bricknell Avenue by Cottingham-based bookmakers Betstead Ltd. The deadline for submitting comments has now passed. It will be heard by a sub-committee of the Licensing Committee at 10 am on March 26^th.

Newland Park repair delays

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the Newland Park carriageway works originally scheduled to take place late last year have been postponed again until March.

We reported in CONTACT! 1324 that the work had been held up once because of bad weather.  Documents submitted to the February meeting of the Council’s Environment and Transport Overview and Scrutiny Commission listed the work as to be carried out in March and the officers have confirmed that the further postponement is once again a matter of waiting until the weather is clement enough to allow the work to go ahead. It goes without saying that if there are still further delays, weather-related or otherwise, we will of course ensure that local residents are informed of those delays.

County Road flyover

John Fareham and John Abbott report that works on the County Road flyover are now officially regarded as complete.

In the light of the hassle and controversy last year regarding the necessary repair works carried out on the flyover, we thought local residents might like to know that a report to the Council’s Environment and Transport Overview and Scrutiny Committee on February 5^th listed all the capital works being carried out in the current 2012-13 financial year with the state of play on each and cited the County Road North works as completed.  We confirmed with the officers that was exactly what they meant and thought we ought to tell you this was the case and that the Council spent £123,000 on repairing the bridge and £21,836 on associated carriageway works.