Can the East Bank Urban Village revitalise Hull’s rundown riverside?

 

Brownfield regeneration in economically challenged cities like Hull doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, the last major housing-led scheme in the city centre was 30 years ago when a nearby former dock was redeveloped as a waterfront village.

 

Now Hull City Council has announced its intention to appoint a lead development partner for what is being billed as the East Bank Urban Village on the riverbank land in question. It has already secured £9.8 million worth of Levelling Up funding aimed at kickstarting work.

 

It’s a long-awaited positive statement of faith in the city and, in particular, a riverside location where previous proposals have come and gone without a brick being laid. As such, it’s an opportunity to create a 21st-century community based on healthy urban lifestyles in a place where heavy industry once reigned supreme.

 

The council’s new partner is actually a partnership itself. The English Cities Fund (ECF) comprises the government’s housing and regeneration agency Homes England, financial services group Legal & General and developer Muse. Under this shared umbrella, the trio are already working together on projects in Bradford, Salford, St Helens, Stockport, Wakefield, Wolverhanpton, Plymouth and London.

 

 

On its website, ECF declares in a big bold headline: “We make things happen in places where others can’t.” It’s a promise that certainly needs delivering on at the East Bank, where at least two proposed large-scale developments have failed to get off the ground over the past couple of decades.

 

One of them, ironically called The Boom, only managed to build a multistorey car park with a Premier Inn hotel on top before falling victim to the 2008 economic crash.  The largely unused multistorey could now form part of the new development, providing parking spaces for residents while the aforementioned footbridge – the public sector’s contribution to The Boom project – will finally serve a new community as it was originally intended to do. 

 

 

So what’s on offer? Around 850 homes; new leisure, office and retail units; new public spaces and a revitalised riverside promenade in a masterplan led by architects Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher. 

 

A few things, however, need to happen before the scheme can go ahead, starting with emergency repair works to the Buoy Shed with an eye on a future potential leisure use; stabilising the river wall and replacing sections where necessary; ground and site investigation works; ground remediation and piling; clearance and demolition and the submission of a planning application.

 

The early concept images, released to coincide with the announcement, are certainly an improvement on those featured in a previous scheme that never got beyond an initial round of public consultation before being shelved.

 

There’s also a pressing need to bring the whole East Bank Village site under a single ownership. The fact that Homes England already owns the land south of the Scale Lane footbridge perhaps explains how Hull came on to the ECF radar.

 

With the city council owning most of the riverbank strip, the only other major landowner in the equation is Whitakers. Talks over acquiring the shipping company’s landholding are ongoing but if a deal can’t be agreed then it’s likely a compulsory purchase order will be made. The same process is also expected to be followed with a derelict pub, which also sits within the boundary of the site and was last used as an antiques business.

 

 

The prospect of a new lease of life for a site that forms part of the ancient parish of Drypool excites Paul Schofield, a self-employed tour guide who takes visitors on walks around Hull’s Old Town on the opposite bank of the river.

 

“Historically it’s a significant site which has seen many changes in its fortunes,” he says. “The area includes the ancient settlement of Drypool (literally a ‘dried up pool’) which is recorded in the Domesday Book as a hamlet with a church, making it older than Hull itself.

 

“It only became part of the city in 1837 and rapidly became industrialised, mainly due to its proximity to Victoria Dock. Sadly St Peter’s Church fell victim to the bombing raids of the Second World War, as did much of Drypool and the city as a whole. 

 

“After the war, the area fell into gradual decline, compounded by the closure of Victoria Dock in 1970 and the loss of shipping on the River Hull. One of the few significant buildings to survive is the former Trinity House buoy shed which is to be restored and preserved.

 

“Another exciting aspect of the area’s history has recently come into sharp focus with the excavations at the South Blockhouse site – part of the huge defences ordered by Henry VIII, consisting of a castle and also a North Blockhouse. Hopefully this Tudor history will be told within the new development along with the other strands of the Drypool story.

 

“Hull being Hull means there will  undoubtedly be some unexpected hurdles, but I’m optimistic that the scheme will progress at a fast pace especially with the national and local demand for more housing and I’m looking forward to a high quality standard of architecture and design. 

 

 

“I also hope the ambitious and much-vaunted Scale Lane bridge can finally lead to and from an outstanding residential complex as originally intended rather than the barren landscape it now overlooks. It’s about time too.”

 

 

The link-up with ECF also includes what is being described as a wider “zone of influence” taking in the immediate surrounding area. Under this proposal, ECF would extend its masterplanning for the East Bank Urban Village site to work with both the council and other landowners over potential future regeneration.

 

This extended zone crosses the river and takes in the High Street area of the Old Town, a popular destination for visitors joining Schofield’s tours and, more recently, film companies – thanks to its cobbled streets and impressive collection of historic buildings.

 

 

Announcing the appointment, ECF chair Michael Lyons said: “East Bank Urban Village is an ambitious plan to deliver a dynamic and vibrant new neighbourhood. As development partner, we will work together with Hull City Council to develop and accelerate the vision.

 

“By bringing our collective skills and experience, ECF will support Hull City Council to address regional priorities, whether through homes, jobs or economic growth. We will also work closely with communities as we progress to ensure the benefits of regeneration are felt at every level.”

 

It’s worth pointing out that the agreement between the council and ECF will cover a 15-year period. We’re not talking about an overnight transformation here. It’s going to be a marathon rather than a sprint.

 

Even so, the council’s cabinet member for housing and regeneration, Paul Drake-Davis, believes the new partnership with ECF could lead to further investment in the city. 

 

“East Bank Urban Village will be one of Hull’s largest ever regeneration projects and begins the transformation of a long-term derelict site just a stone’s throw away from the city centre,” he says.

 

“This new neighbourhood of up to 850 homes will act as a catalyst for further urban renewal within Hull and help increase investor confidence in the city.”

 

Angus Young is a freelance Geordie journalist living in Hull. He has worked in local journalism for over 40 years and was the local government reporter for the Hull Daily Mail and Hull Live for many years