The first speakers were James Leeming (Senior Project Manager from Highways England) and Sonam Norbu (Design Lead from Arup) who presented an interesting and informative presentation on the Castle Street, Hull upgrade works. This is included the current work to construct the new Iconic Princes Quay Footbridge and converting the current roundabout on Roger Millward Way to a ‘Hamburger’ Roundabout. They then spoke at length about the proposed works to upgrade Mytongate Junction to a grade separated junction. This will involve the largest mass exhumation outside of London, a very technically challenging underpass construction using Diaphragm walls, anchor piles and an integral bridge, which will also act as a prop. The works are not only technically challenging due to the ground conditions but also logistically challenging due to the volume of traffic and pedestrians that use the route.

The second speakers were Andrew Barron (Environment Agency), Jess Moloney (Hull City Council) and Ben Kirby (East Riding of Yorkshire Council) who presented on Flood Risk Alleviation in the Region.   Andrew spoke on the EA’s projects along the Humber Estuary and River Hull corridor, which link into works being carried out by Hull City Council. Jess spoke on Hull CC’s use of green solutions to reduce flood risk by storing water in natural low spots in the city while creating new habitat and recreational areas. Ben spoke on ERYC’s major schemes to reduce flood risk to properties and businesses in East Riding and Hull by creating storage lagoons in Willerby and Cottingham areas along with other schemes to reduce tidal flood risk.

The third speakers were Malcom Relph (Economy Manager from Hull City Council) and Julie Burns (Hull City Council). Malcolm spoke about the challenges Hull has faced as a City around employment and deprivation and how the city has worked hard to improve. Julie then spoke about the physical changes that the city has undergone to improves its image and how this has led to improved confidence in the city.   The investment in the city from business is leading to a huge decrease in unemployment which in turns leads to more local spend and allows for other businesses to grow.

The Chair and Committee of CIHT Yorkshire and The Humber would like to thank all the presenters for their time and also Hull City Council for hosting.