Newland Park resurfacing update

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the resurfacing of Newland Park was due to commence on November 26th.

Some have commented about the seemingly long period of no parking. These works were originally to have been undertaken in October but the officers felt the weather then was unsuitable for resurfacing.  One would have thought there was a better chance of getting suitable weather in October than in November – but the work is now due to go ahead and we will of course stand ready to assist local residents should there be any issues arising out of the manner in which the work is being carried out. We authorised these works from funds under our local control a while ago and they have taken a while to come through but weather may still delay them.

Aneurin Bevan Lodge travellers

John Fareham and John Abbott have been told they have secured the removal of the unauthorised traveller encampment on the former Aneurin Bevan Lodge site on Hotham Road North.

Having been tipped off by local residents that they were arriving, we went to see for ourselves. We found several caravans already on site with the accompanying towing vehicles and a petrol generator already in use.  Others were expected to arrive and indeed arrived later. We  therefore  notified the police, since the travellers appear to have gained entry to the site by force, and  notified officers of the Council. We were told the necessary steps would be taken to get court action to shift the travellers. On the evening following their arrival, the travellers were served with Section 77 notices to leave by 9 am Monday morning. If they haven’t gone by then, the Council will go back to court to ask for permission to evict them. In the longer term it is of course for our local MP to press for improved powers to deal with such situations as this.

County Road flyover - reopening date

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the County Road North flyover will reopen on Monday October 15^th.

The original date for reopening was to have been November 11th, but now that the officers think that enough work has been done to make the bridge safe they have, as we previously reported, been looking at ways of doing the rest of the work while the flyover reopens. There will however be temporary traffic lights to ensure the safety of those continuing to work on the underside of the bridge by guaranteeing controlled two-way traffic.  We thought it a good idea to pass on this information as soon as possible, as we know these works have been a problem for local residents, but at least now there is light at the end of the tunnel.

County Road flyover reopening

John Fareham and John Abbott have news regarding the likely reopening date of County Road North being earlier than at first anticipated.

We have had concerns about the duration of the work and the effect on traffic raised by local residents and even by our colleagues across the Hull-Cottingham boundary. We are therefore pleased to announce that we have been told by the officers that the damaged concrete has now been removed from the flyover. This not only gave the engineers a rough idea of how much work needed to be done but also ideas as to how, albeit at increased cost, they could arrange for some of the repairs to be done with the bridge re-opened to traffic.  As a result the flyover is expected to be open to traffic again by around 13/14 October.

YPI first flats application - appeal result

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the appeal against the Council’s original decision to turn down the first application, that for 89 flats, on the YPI front car park has been turned down by the Planning Inspectorate.

The full findings of the Inspector are available from the Planning Inspectorate website. They say that this plan would have damaged the view of open greenspace and that no sufficiently over-riding counter-arguments were offered by the appellant.  The Inspector also says the design would go against the national Planning Policy Framework by not addressing the connection between people and places or integrating new development into the built environment.  Moreover, the loss of open space would also be unacceptably harmful to the character and appearance of the area.  The inspector concluded that the occupants of the flats would have no trouble getting a bus, and that arguments relating to noise and nuisance were not really applicable, but that these were not reason enough to allow the appeal.

YPI planning application for phone mast

John Fareham and John Abbott have details of a planning application for a 20m/65ft high telecommunications mast to be erected on the YPI grounds.

At the time of going to press full details were only visible by visiting the Planning offices in Kingston House and were yet to be uploaded to the Council website. The details we have apart from that are that the mast will have two aerials, three dish antennas and three base cabinets plus ancillary equipment in a fenced-off area adjoining the YPI access road.  If you wish to pass comment one way or the other the application reference number is 12/00840/FULL, and you can write to Planning Services, Kingston House, Bond Street, Hull HU1 3ER or E-mail dev.control@hullcc.gov.uk. In either instance it would be helpful, though not strictly necessary, to have your comments in before 12 October 2012.

The planning rules on telecoms masts are slightly different. Any mast under 15m/49ft high is automatically decided on by the officers; over that height and as soon as somebody passes comment, for or against, it automatically comes to Committee.   The criteria the Committee will then use are set out in Section BE14 of the City Plan which states that “telecommunications equipment will be allowed if the apparatus is sited and designed, taking account of operational needs, to minimise its impact on amenity. 

Chanterlands Avenue road works

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured the postponement of road works being carried out on Chanterlands Avenue by Northern Power Grid until essential repairs to the County Road North flyover have been completed.

A number of local residents have drawn our attention to the fact that one lot of road works at any given time may be acceptable, but two lots look more like gridlock in the offing.  We therefore contacted the officers who got on to Northern Power Grid. They in turn agreed that all their works on Chanterlands Avenue would stop, whether completed or not, and the road would be fully opened before County Road North was closed down for repairs and work on Chanterlands Avenue would not resume until work on the flyover was complete.