Ex-services charity opposes £8 million veterans village on green space in Hull

Hull Veterans say many veterans use the open space off Coronation Road, which is earmarked for the £8 million development, for their mental health and well being.

Councillors in Hull are being recommended to approve a planning application by charity Hull4Heroes for the site on Wednesday.

As well as 48 homes, the proposals, which have been backed by landowner Hull Council, include a horticultural therapy and rehabilitation facility, market garden and garden centre.

However Steve Kingdom CEO of Hull Veterans, which provides supported accommodation to ex-Army, Navy, Airforce and Merchant Navy personnel, said the benefit of green spaces for those with mental health issues, particularly PTSD, was well established.

He said: "It is already in short supply in and around cities so why take more away that is already being used for the common good."

Mr Kingdom said there were plenty of brownfield sites that could be used and they, as a charity which currently provides accommodation for 21 veterans in nearby Cottingham, only use existing infrastructure.

He said a "village" would only serve to isolate veterans, adding: "(It) is effectively asking for the same problems you would get in a 'garrison town'".

He claimed the scheme "would bring far more problems than the benefit gained", adding: "It would be taking veterans from a culture that they become accustomed to and placing them into one which is almost identical. They will still have to move on and, they will still have to move on into local communities, this is were the problems start.

"The money would be better spent working with existing infrastructure, projects and, landlords that are already doing this work."

Hull4Heroes was set up in 2016 by ex-soldier Paul Matson after he returned to Hull after working on the BBC's DIY SOS creating a "Veteran’s Street" in Manchester.

The development site includes open space, which forms part of the Hull's green network as well as ancient meadows, on the East Riding side of the boundary.

Volunteers, who look after the area off Coronation Road, have planted a community orchard and run activities including community picnics and bug hunts.

During lockdown, the area has become increasingly important for locals who use it for exercise, walk their dogs and as a place for their children to play.

Helen Raven-Bennett, who was with her daughter Freya, seven, said it was an outlet for people living in cramped homes and contained a wealth of wildlife including newts, deers and foxes.

She said: “We have been told by teachers to do for walks, enjoy the open spaces, while home schooling. Even on a grey day it is beautiful. If we didn’t have this on our doorstep, our mental health would have suffered a lot more.”

However she said she would no longer feel comfortable taking her child there if the fields became a rehabilitation centre.

The charity plans to build a multi-use games area (MUGA), but Sports England is objecting to the loss of 4.3 hectares of former school playing fields.

Even if approved locally, the application will be referred to the Secretary of State.

Another resident said she had been told residents could use the MUGA, when other groups were not using it. She said: “That’s not the same – at the moment people can come on whenever. There are children on it all the time, it’s a place for them to play safety.”

Mr Matson said he understood people’s worries, but said the village had been “specially designed to allow the community to use it”.

They were working with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to ensure “everything is done in the correct way to bring wildlife in”.

He added: “We need the local community to be on board. Them and us is the wrong way. Hull4Heroes’ motto is Stronger Together.”

He declined to comment on Hull Veterans' stance, saying: "I wouldn't want to get into a catfight with a veterans charity - it would not help the veterans' cause."

The plans state that the village will “offer the opportunity for shared living, providing a support network through mentoring” and provide housing for 100 ex-Service personnel and their families. The homes are not to be permanent, but to be used while veterans reintegrate back into civilian life.

A key aim is to involve veterans in the construction process to help build skills and confidence.