'We don't know what to do': Residents of Hull's most expensive and cheapest streets speak out about the cost of living

People in The Pines in Kingswood told LDRS the cost of living crisis was beginning to bite but a community spirit and good surroundings meant they wanted to stay.

But a takeaway owner in Cave Street said inflation rates now running at 9 per cent were making it harder for his business and locals to survive, let alone thrive.

It comes as data showed the most expensive house sold in Hull in 2022 was in The Pines, selling for £445,000.

In contrast, the cheapest home was a flat in Cave Street which went for £42,000.

‘Anyone living here would help their neighbour’

Darren Hannath, who lives in The Pines and heads up its residents’ association, said issues in the area usually involved wayward youths and lost dogs.

But he added energy prices were starting to squeeze those living there, making him worry about his children’s ability to get on the housing ladder in the future.

Mr Hannath said: “I wouldn’t say there are many issues here at the moment, it’s just the energy prices going up it’s beyond a joke.

“We feel for everyone who’s struggling, they’re our fellow people.

“Me and my wife both work, most people who live on this street own their own companies and most of them are from Hull originally I think.

“There are 38 houses here, it’s very neighbourly, we have a Whatsapp group where we chat about things going on around here.

“Sometimes we get gangs of kids coming up and they knock about on the wider estate, but mostly it’s just about people losing their dogs and stuff like that.

“And we have a community pot we all pay into that we use for repairs and to put events on for people here, I think the management company which runs it is planning on doing something for the Jubilee.

“The management company looks after things here so the council’s not as involved.

“People who live here are people who’ve worked hard to try and better themselves.

“It was built as a gated community. They close the gates on a night but they leave them open during the day and anyone can drive in.

“The houses were built 15 years ago and we bought ours almost new 12 years ago, since I’ve lived here only about a dozen houses have been sold, people tend to stay here long term.

“One of the problems we do have is with infrastructure, they’re building so many houses in the area but the infrastructure’s not designed to take them all.

“And the house prices keep going up all the time.

“It shows people want to live here and that’s a good thing, but I think of my daughter whose 22 and if she wants to get on the housing ladder she’s going to have to save up a lot for a deposit.

“Overall people are good here. I’ve heard people have the impression that you wouldn’t be able to borrow sugar from a neighbour on this street but they’d always try and help, I can guarantee it.”

‘We’re really glad we found this road’

The Pines resident Alex who gave only her first name said she moved to the street in 2017.

She added she and her husband were hoping to start a family and had no plans to leave.

Alex said: “We like it here because we have everything we need really close by, there are plenty of local shops and bars and restaurants we can go to.

“It’s quite flat so we can get out for walks and runs too – that was really important for us during lockdown.

“It’s relatively safe too, you get a few boy racers driving around sometimes trying to test the speed limit but you get that anywhere.

“We came across this road by accident when we were looking for houses, but we’re really glad we found it.

“Me and my husband are both scientists, he works for a pharmaceutical company and I work in the project management side of things.

“I’m from London originally but I came to Hull for university and settled here.

“I’d only leave if I got a really good offer to go to a job elsewhere, I really like it here the people are really friendly.

“I know a couple of the neighbours here, it’s pretty neighbourly.

“For us, it’s the cost of energy and fuel that’s a big thing at the moment but it isn’t affecting us too much because we tend to be savvy with how we spend our money.

“We don’t really eat out or get takeaways very much, we just buy a weekly shop and cook food for ourselves and make packed lunches for work.

“It’s hard to think about how it’s affecting people, one of the things I like about any community is its ability to look after the people who need it.”

‘It’s hard for people to live’

The owner of the Taste of China Noodle Bar on the corner of Cave Street and Beverley Road, who asked not to be named, said things were hard both for local customers and for the business itself.

The owner said: “Everything’s going up and price, all our supplies are getting more and more expensive.

“It’s becoming hard for us to survive as a business and it’s hard for people around here to live.

“Trade’s getting bad because people who were just doing okay before are finding it harder and harder to afford even essentials.

“The last one and half months have been particularly bad for us.

“And the problem is that we’ve still got to pay our staff and our electricity, gas, and water bills at the same time.

“For example, the price of a box of chips for us used to be between £10 and £15, now it’s gone up to £20.

“The prices of all our supplies have gone up.

“But because of the area we’re in and the people who come for food here we can’t afford to put our prices up because customers would just stop coming.

“So we don’t know what to do.

“When I’ve chatted to customers coming in they’ve said things weren’t too bad before, they were getting by, but now it’s a real struggle for them.

“In the near term, it really depends on what the Government can do for businesses like ours – if they can do anything that is.

“I’m not sure if they can or if they will do much though.

“It’s becoming harder and harder for us and for this street to thrive.”