THE PROJECT TEAM behind the proposals to develop a Humber International Enterprise Park at the Hedon Haven are to hold two online presentations on Tuesday 2 March 2021 and residents from Paull and Hedon are invited to sign up to take part or watch.
Associated British Ports (ABP) have published a web page with the open invites.
“ABP Humber, on Tuesday, 2nd March, are inviting residents from Paull, Hedon and surrounding areas to have their say on the development at Hedon Haven known as Humber International Enterprise park (HIEP).”
“Next Tuesday, ABP and the project team will present the latest scheme. Following this they will take questions and respond to comments made. To create a focussed discussion, there will be ten “speaking” spaces in each session on a first come first served basis. These will be allocated in advance.”
“There will be two sessions held on the evening, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, would welcome those particularly from the community of Paull to attend the first session. And for the second session, 7:15pm – 8:15pm, would welcome those particularly from the community of Hedon to attend the second session.”
have-your-say-on-proposed-humber-international-enterprise-park-development
If you would like to attend please e-mail: hedon.haven@montagu-evans.co.uk by 12pm on Monday 1st March and include in the e-mail your name, the session you would like to attend, the e-mail address you would like the meeting link to be sent to, with the subject line register to speak.
If you do not wish to speak or are unable to secure a speaking space due to demand, you can watch a session LIVE. To receive a link to watch live please e-mail hedon.haven@montagu-evans.co.uk with the subject line: register to watch. In response, you will be provided a link to watch both sessions.
Visit: ABP Have your say on proposed HIEP.
The story so far – report of Planning Committee:
THE PLANNING APPLICATIONS by Associated British Ports proposing to develop the Hedon Haven land near Hedon, Paull and Preston South have been deferred subject to receiving updated feedback from consultees, and in addition, a public pre-consultation meeting will take place prior to the planning meeting.
ABP brought two applications to the East Riding of Yorkshire Council Planning Committee: One is for full planning permission for the construction of a new road between Hull Road and Paull Road, and the second is an application for outline planning permission for the construction of up to 394,839sqm of employment floorspace and up to 5,111sqm of flexible commercial floorspace and associated landscaping and infrastructure.
The development land is described in the council planning officer’s report as encompassing 189.2 hectares (467.5 acres). But in his remarks to the committee as the official objector to the applications, Andrew Nicholson from Paull, described the size of the development area in more graphic terms: “This is one of the biggest developments of its kind and it is taking place on our doorstep. If we include the development site and the mitigation areas, this development is equivalent to the size of Monaco, it is one and a half times the bigger than the town of Hedon, it is six and a half times bigger than the Vatican City and you could park 2,100 Boeing 737 aircraft on this site. One of the buildings, in particular, causes us concern, the closest to Paull, it is 72 feet high and could be seen from 10 miles away. At 1.25m square feet with a footprint of 20 acres, the site could accommodate 21 rugby pitches, 59 basketball courts or 1,386 badminton courts. If you stood this one building on its end, it would be 120m taller than the Eiffel Tower. It will be colossal and overpowering.”
Statistics were also used by David Morriss the Head of Property for the applicants, Associated British Ports who said that as an outcome of positive stakeholder engagement, material amendments had been made to the plans: “We have reduced the number of component units on the site by 51,000 square metres, increased landscaping and reduced the total building footprint across the whole site by 22%. We have removed one 42,000 square meter building from an area which is now a ‘no building zone’ which was done in response to a consultation with Paull residents. There will be an extension to the Newton Garth wildlife mitigation area of 20 hectares, that is 56 hectares in total. The development will give the area a significant economic boost with an estimated £350 millions pounds of direct investment with the potential for over 6,500 jobs.”
Councillor John Dennis speaking to the committee in his capacity as Ward member for the area similarly used figures to highlight his opposition to the application: “The 185-hectare site comprises the last countryside between Saltend, Hedon and the riverside village of Paull. It constitutes an area bigger than Hedon and Paull combined. People chose to live locally in the country, in a rural area rather than predominantly an industrial one and this is considered important to them. This was confirmed in a referendum exercise of the East Riding where people were asked if they wanted to live in an expanded Hull. On an exceptional 75% turnout, there was a massive ‘No’ vote of 96%. 80 hectares of previously non-allocated land has been thrust upon us when the committee at the time voted by 6 votes to 5 to build the Yorkshire Energy Park. With the existing Saltend Chemicals Park spilling out into our area that totals 400 hectares, which accounts for more industry in this South Holderness ward, than all the other East Riding wards put together. There was never any intention to have so much industry in this ward. Considering the small village of Paull, then why should these plans be so invasive? I appeal to members to be brave and reject the application; imagine if it was your community that was going to be changed irreparably forever?”
The first speaker during the actual committee meeting was Councillor Sue Steel who had heard what had been said by the applicant regarding communication with residents, but she was only aware of two brief presentations held at the end of 2018 at the request of Paull Parish Council: “With such a huge application I would have expected there to have been much more communication with residents. As ward councillors, we haven’t heard anything since 2018. I would like the whole thing brought back to the committee and would like to see more public dialogue take place now. I would like a pre-planning consultation meeting to take place prior to the planning meeting as I have grave concerns about the application.”
The officer’s recommendation to the committee was that the planning applications do conform to the policies of the East Riding Local Plan but final comments from statutory consultees are still awaited therefore the applications should be deferred. It was agreed to bring back both applications to the committee for determination. In addition, a pre-planning consultation meeting should take place the week before the planning committee where supporters and opponents of the plan would be given 30 minutes each to present their cases.
Consultation?
At the Planning Committee meeting on 4 February, Councillor Geraldine Mathieson was one of many councillors who spoke about ‘more’ and ‘better’ consultation taking place. She raised the prospect of ‘real consultation’ being undertaken. “Real consultation isn’t about telling people what’s going to happen,” she said, “it’s about offering real control and ownership of the process.”
On HU12 Online we ask the question about the quality of consultation about to take place. To paraphrase Cllr. Mathieson, will it be a genuine attempt to engage local communities to help shape the development, and if so to what extent? Or will this be about “telling people what’s going to happen”? And can a genuine consultation take place within the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic when people are not able to physically meet up to discuss and debate?
Online communication, especially the rise in video-telecommunication, has seen a boom during the pandemic, but of course, not everyone is able or willing to engage in this way. Perhaps with the rollout of vaccines and the lowering of the risk of contagion in sight, then the consultation on this massive development should be postponed for more opportune times to facilitate the higher levels of participation?
Find out more about the planning application at the East Riding Publc Access website and search for reference: 18/04071/STPLFE.
Recent calls/letters which Graham Stuart MP and I have had with ABP have made it clear that we expect a more thorough consultation exercise to satisfy the Planning Condition than the rushed – through, ‘virtual’ effort that has been proposed by ABP..
There are members of the affected communities who haven’t got IT access and wozuld be precluded from taking part. They won’t have the opportunity to be heard.
The land has to my knowledge been available since the 1950’s. Surely giving it a few months longer until we’re rid of lockdown wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Discussions are still going on.
Hello Andy
I emailed Graham Stuart today please find his response below.
Kind regards Amanda Canavan
Dear Amanda
Many thanks for your email today, and for taking the trouble to photograph and send the leaflet, which I had not seen.
I have now emailed ABP with a formal request to delay the consultation until local residents all have an opportunity to participate. Now that we can look forward to a stage when either public meetings or staffed exhibitions could be held, without involving more than a few months’ delay, I have told ABP that I think it is a reasonable request to make.
I will let you know what response I receive.
Kind regards
GRAHAM STUART
Member of Parliament for Beverley & Holderness
9 Cross St
Beverley HU17 9AX
Tel: 020 7219 4340
email: grahamstuartmp@parliament.uk
Thank you Amanda. I received that message from a few people yesterday. I now know via other sources that he did send that email to ABP. This is good news and I hope they will take notice but its really up to ABP and they seem to be hell bent on upsetting the local population with their arrogance. This only highlights their lack of understanding of a Public Consultation!
We recently received an email from ABP via Montagu Evans indicating that they are trying to set up virtual calls for the 2nd of March 2021. A ONE-hour virtual call or two ONE Hour calls will not resolve this situation or bring about any resolution when they are asking for 10 speakers in that period. This Public consultation needs to be done face to face around a table with real people asking real questions. In our opinion, this cannot and will not be achieved by a one-hour video call. This is totally unacceptable. We fully understand the urgency of the applicant, but we feel that the lack of technical capability from many of the older members of the community will put them at a distinct disadvantage. We feel it is paramount that all those wishing to have a say can do in a familiar and safe environment.
We feel the applicant must do more to recognize the importance of communities in submitting planning applications. There is much that the applicant can do and should do to make it easier for communities to get involved in shaping local planning applications. During the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen several major projects with large opposition outside of our region gain approval in a virtual zoom meeting without opposition. We believe it is only fair that any Public Consultation for 18/04071 and/or 18/01952 be delayed until such times that they can be aired in a public forum and attended by members of the Public. We do not feel a zoom call will allow the various opposition groups to have a fair say. It is in the people of Paulls interest to protect their local population and to give them a say in such important decisions in a democratic society. The applicant is trying to rush this through yet again and only paying the public lip service with a one hour zoom call. We feel the clue is in the name “Public Consultation”.
We are also concerned that due to the nature of virtual calls that people can attend whose identity cannot be verified, leaving the process open to misuse and mischief. This concerns the residents of Paull who are more than willing to disclose their identities in an open forum with the applicant. We feel that a Public Consultation should be just that.
We asked ABP to move the date to when the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over which we now know will be June 2021 and today we received a response from ABP saying that the 2nd March 2021 is the set date and that’s when it will go ahead. This response shows yet again that ABP does not intend to listen to the people of Paull or Hedon but to do what they did last time and say this is what you having!
This is a bad day for democracy when a private company can ride roughshod over the general public in order to tick a box for protocol to be able to build on a piece of land that is burning a hole in their pocket.
Andy – Is there going to be an effective boycott of the virtual meetings from the village of Paull or from a significant group of residents in Paull? If so, then I think that would demonstrate that any consultation findings, that lack full involvement from the village, would be fundamentally flawed. Whatever conclusions are derived from the 2 March findings will always be questioned and lack credibility!
Mr Morriss said at the Planning meeting that the land had been earmarked for some kind of development since the 1950s – surely after waiting 70 years, then to wait for just another few months to enable fuller consultation to take place, is not asking for much?
Ray – I totally agree. However they are trying to push this through as soon as possible to give themselves options should they be allocated one of the Freeport slots. This project could cost them that deal and if they have already made a commitment to that area in their offer. This is also why some Senior people within areas of influence are also keen for this to go ahead. It is seen as a big win for East Riding Council at the expense of the inhabitants of Paull and Hedon. They get new infrastructure, Rates, modified intersections and roundabouts all gifted to them on completion of the process. They also get to negotiate the terms of the S106 with the applicant. If you don’t know what a 106 is check it out on Google. If we as individuals did this we could end up in Jail!
The scale of this is hard to describe to the average person. The Hull Daily mail often says Paull is a great place close enough to Hull to go for a brisk walk and enjoy the views and the river air. I want to keep it that way. No one ever said “lets go and drive through one of Europe’s biggest Industrial estates and get some fresh air!”