BY Mark Westwood | Friday 11 March 2022
Road widening scheme will open door to further development of business park, private sector investment of up to £25m and the creation of up to 280 new jobs
A major highways improvement project will begin this month on Priory Way, paving the way for further development of the Priory Park East business park.
There are six remaining sites to develop on Priory Park East, in west Hull, with four proposed schemes identified for development.
Development of the remaining sites is expected to lead to private sector investment of up to £25million, up to 15,600m2 of new commercial floor space and the creation of up to 280 jobs. Approximately 8.5 acres of the remaining 12 acres of land is within Enterprise Zones.
As part of the £6million Priory Way scheme, the highway will be widened in order to increase capacity and accommodate the additional traffic that the development sites are expected to create.
The project has been supported with £1,439,899 from the Government’s Local Growth Fund, which was secured by the Hull and East Yorkshire LEP as part of the Government’s commitment to the Northern Powerhouse.
The Priory Way work includes:
- An additional northbound lane between Saxon Way and Sainsbury Way, allowing two ahead lanes and a dedicated right-turn lane into Henry Boot Way.
- An additional southbound lane approaching the junction of Sainsbury Way, allowing two ahead lanes and a dedicated right-turn lane into Sainsbury Way.
- An additional southbound lane between Henry Boot Way and Saxon Way, allowing two ahead lanes and a dedicated right-turn lane into Saxon Way.
- A new shared-use path for pedestrians and cyclists.
- New traffic islands for safer pedestrian/cyclist crossing.
- Improved traffic signals and pedestrian crossings.
Work will begin on site this month and the project will take about 56 weeks to complete. Initial works will take place off the carriageway, with works vehicles accessing the site from the Sainsbury’s/Homebase car park.
The work will be carried out by Jackson Civils on behalf of Hull City Council.
Councillor Dean Kirk, portfolio holder for roads, highways and transport, said: “The Priory Way scheme is excellent news for the city as it will allow further investment in Priory Park East, creating more jobs for the people of Hull.
“By providing this additional highway capacity, we are also improving road safety by reducing the risk of traffic queuing back on to the A63.
“We are also making sure the needs of cyclists and pedestrians are catered for with a new shared-use path, as part of our ongoing strategy to encourage more active travel and become a carbon neutral city by 2030.”
James Newman OBE, chair of the Hull & East Yorkshire LEP, said: “The Priory Way works will serve as a catalyst for the future development of the Priory Park East site, creating additional capacity to help realise the potential economic development of the Business Park, helping to facilitate job creation and investment in the Enterprise Zones.
“This scheme would not be possible without this Legacy Project and I am delighted that we have been able to support this project that will provide an infrastructure supporting growth, in line with the LEP’s priorities.”