Landmark £36m music and events venue gets green light

Senior councillors backed plans for the £36m Hull Venue, which, it is hoped, will put the city on the UK map as a location for major events, shows and music concerts. They also backed the redevelopment of Hull’s historic Beverley Gate.

The plans approved today by members of Hull Council’s planning committee are predicted to create 30 full time jobs, with between 100 and 150 temporary jobs on event days.

Coun Steven Bayes, the council’s portfolio holder for visitor destination said: “The approval of this scheme is key to making Hull a top visitor destination and to securing a long-term legacy from our year as UK City of Culture.

“We will formally hand over the City of Culture title to another city in 2020, but this development will allow us to continue to attract events capable of delivering a big economic impact beyond that,” Coun Bayes added.

Plans were originally rejected by members last year with the latest proposals seeking to address one of the reasons for refusal - that the design was not of “adequately high standard.”

Revised proposals were unveiled this year with its angular prow - criticised as being yet another “pointy” building reminiscent of the city’s Deep aquarium - softened and made “curvier.”

The council has committed £36.2m towards the cost of building the complex on the site behind Princes Quay shopping centre and the cash will also modernise Osborne Street car park.

Work will begin later this year and The Venue is scheduled to open in 2018 as part of the city’s legacy programme.

Council bosses says the new Hull Venue, which will be built on a site close to the key road and rail routes in and out of Hull, will revitalise and reconnect the heart of the city centre by providing a link between the historic Old Town, the 1950s-built new town and the city’s transport interchange and St Stephen’s shopping centre.

It is planned the venue will become an iconic landmark for visitors travelling to and through the city, as well as offering conference delegates and music fans spectacular views of Hull Marina.

Members also backed plans for the redevelopment of historic Beverley Gate. With its new Scheduled Monument status, an application will now be made to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in consultation with Historic England, to be assessed and approved.

Plans will see walls exposed and current access retained and improved.

Coun Bayes added: “We always wanted to properly acknowledge the historical significance of Beverley Gate and to enhance its representation and public awareness.

“I believe these plans successfully do this and the end result will be something the city can be proud of,” he added.

The foundations of the city’s walls and gate at the top of Whitefriargate where King Charles I was refused entry at the start of the English Civil War had looked in danger of being filled in, until thousands rode to its rescue in a poll. The city council now has plans to redisplay it in a more aesthetic manner.