Ambitious plans to transform an empty Hull city centre unit into a soup kitchen to help provide food, warmth and safety for homeless people have been unanimously approved.

The soup kitchen will be created at 75 Jameson Street in the city centre in a prominent building that has been empty for almost ten years.

It will be delivered by the Hull charity All For One who hope the project will provide a safe and structured indoor environment where vulnerable individuals can access food, basic facilities, and support services in a dignified setting. In the planning committee meeting held in the council chamber a mix of service users, local councillors and representatives from the charity spoke passionately about the community benefits the soup kitchen would deliver.

‘Homeless people are too often hungry, cold and just looking to survive,’ the planning session heard. The debate examined safeguarding concerns and highlighted the accessibility and visibility of the soup kitchen before the building’s change of use was unanimously agreed.

Ambitious Hull city centre soup kitchen plans are moving forward.

placeholder image — Ambitious Hull city centre soup kitchen plans are moving forward.

Cllr Garreth Byrne (Liberal Democrat – North Carr ward) told the chamber he had spent a significant amount of time in Hull city centre over recent months and during that time he had witnessed alarming issues around crime, suspected county line drug-dealing and increasingly serious anti-social behaviour. He said: “This soup kitchen gives the All For One community a chance to help take people off the streets. We need to do much more to help the police here.”

Karina Wilkinson, representing All For One, said there was an urgent need for a good-sized soup kitchen in East Yorkshire and she was confident that the Jameson Street venue would be transformational for homeless people in Hull. She told the chamber: “Once homeless people get wet, they stay wet. The meals we provide for them are so often the only meals they have that day. The people we see here are hungry, cold and just looking to survive. The building will provide better safeguarding and protection from exploitation too, which is so important.”

All For One is a registered charity and supports people facing homelessness by providing hot meals, clothing, essentials and a safe community space. It offers guidance and signposting to services, working with local partners to reduce hardship, improve wellbeing and help people move towards stability.

The plan for the soup kitchen is for it to open on a trial basis. The All For One team are confident this will be a success because the prominent Hull location will connect with disenfranchised homeless people and the range of services will help to ensure wraparound care for some of the region’s most vulnerable communities.

Emily Barnard, associate town planner at NHS Property Services, explained the NHS is going to be working closely with All For One on the project and gave her backing to the central location.

“Jameson Street is the most suitable location available for this service, it is close to public transport and is very accessible,” she told the planning meeting. “This is a chance for All For One to prove it works. The proposals will offer other benefits such as improving safeguarding outcomes, providing better access to health and housing services, and will help deliver improved health outcomes.”

A requirement for cycle parking provision as part of the soup kitchen was removed, following health and safety concerns. The meeting heard that Jameson Street is very close to the railway station, bus station and the soup kitchen’s location offers other places to park a bicycle too.