Motorists, hauliers and local residents are invited to find out more about proposals to improve almost a mile of the A63 in Hull, reducing congestion, and improving the city’s east to west links.

Two public consultation exhibitions are taking place at the Mercure Royal Station Hotel later this week. Highways England is seeking views on the A63 proposals and there will be an opportunity to speak to the project team.

The exhibitions will take place on:

• Friday 27 January 12.30pm – 8pm
• Saturday 28 January 10am – 4pm

Highways England’s plans to upgrade a major route running through the city of Hull, went on show to the public last week. The Statutory consultation period launched on Monday 16 January and runs until Monday 13 February.

The section between Ropery Street and the Market Place/Queen Street junction carries around 45,000 vehicles per day and as a result, the road suffers from congestion, particularly at peak times.

Highways England project manager Jimmy Holmes said:

We are committed to improving the A63 through Hull and would really like people to get involved in the consultation event and give us their feedback, particularly on the new information which is now available.

The A63 Castle Street scheme will improve access to the Port of Hull by widening some sections of the road, upgrading the Mytongate junction and a bridge over the A63.

I understand people may have felt they have already done this but things have changed and it is vital we have the most up to date views available.

Highways England last consulted on the scheme in 2013, since that time we have been developing the scheme further and completing additional environmental and traffic assessments.

Councillor Martin Mancey, Portfolio Holder for Transport at Hull City Council, said:

This is another key step in Hull’s changing fortunes, and the upgrade of this arterial route will enhance the city’s connectivity to key routes such as the M62, which is crucial for the city’s position as a key player in the Northern Powerhouse.

Once completed, I anticipate it will also contribute to a significant reduction in traffic congestion elsewhere in the city, caused by traffic currently queuing to join Castle Street from the City Centre and by those using alternative routes to avoid the congestion on Castle Street.

We’ve had significant private sector investment in the city and have welcomed global businesses like Siemens to Hull, creating well paid jobs for local people, and making Hull one of the fastest growing economies in the North. Coupled with the capital investment in our cultural and visitor infrastructure, perceptions of the city are changing and both public and business confidence and aspiration are at an all-time high.

We want to continue this momentum, and this can only be made possible by developing a transport network that is fit-for-purpose.

Copies of the consultation are available at various venues including Hull City Council, Guildhall, Hull. Leaflets have been delivered to interested parties and they are also available to view on the scheme website.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

The project, which will see the widening of the A12 between junction 19 (Boreham interchange) and junction 25 (Marks Tey interchange) in Essex, will reduce congestion, improve safety and boost the economy. It is part of the government’s record £15 billion investment in England’s motorways and major A roads.

A Highways England consultation seeking public views on the proposals starts today and will run until Friday 3 March 2017.

Four options were shortlisted to be put forward to consultation:

• Option 1 – widening the existing A12 corridor (the online option)
• Option 2 – widening the existing A12 corridor between junctions 19 to 22 and 23 to 24 and two new bypasses between junctions 22 and 23 (Rivenhall) and between junctions 24 and 25 (Marks Tey)
• Option 3 – a variation of option 2 with only one new bypass between junctions 22 and 23 (Rivenhall)
• Option 4 – a variation of option 2 with only one new bypass between junctions 24 and 25 (Marks Tey)

Map showing the different options up for consultation on the A12 between junctions 19 and 25

Highways England programme leader Richard Hofton said:

Deciding how best to plan and carry out improvements along the A12 is vitally important and we’ve been working hard to identify a range of possible solutions to take forward.

There are important choices to be made and we are keen to get as many views as we can, so I encourage anyone who would like to find out more to check out the consultation materials online or come and see us at one of our public exhibitions.

People are invited to attend one of the seven public exhibitions, held at venues along the A12 route between Chelmsford and Colchester, to find out more and take part. A consultation into plans for proposed improvements on the A120, which is being organised by Essex County Council is also being run at the same time and some of the events will be run jointly.

All responses to the A12 consultation will help Highways England take the best possible improvements forward. For more information about our proposals and the public exhibitions, and to provide your views, please visit the scheme website.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

23 January 2017

Jenny Jones, Green member of the House of Lords, has responded to the latest air pollution episode which saw some areas of the country hit Defra’s highest warning level [1].

The London Mayor issued a health warning to millions of Londoners – but the government continues to do nothing to alert people except tweet from its specialist @DefraUKAir account. 

The official Defra alert page says that there are no alerts at this time, despite pollution being high or very high in the south and east of the country.

Jenny Jones said:

“The Mayor of London clearly cares about the health impacts of bad air on people living and working in the capital, but this government is letting everyone else suffer without any warning whats so ever. When air pollution episodes are capable of triggering an extra 300 deaths as well as hundreds of emergency admissions to hospitals around the country, I think that we have to consider emergency measures to discourage driving, encourage a switch away from diesel and promote less polluting alternatives.

“The government’s sole aim is to downplay the whole thing. No press release. It doesn’t even make the main DEFRA twitter feed, or use the NHS to reach out to vulnerable people. They want to tick the smallest of boxes by putting out the minimum of information. It is then up to those who are vulnerable to respiratory diseases and heart conditions to find that information. It is criminal neglect by a government that has lost two court cases over its inadequate plans.”

Notes:

1. https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/latest/

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The Environment Agency has joined forces with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) in the North East to carry out combined visits to check waste sites aren’t flouting important legislation.

This ongoing multi-agency approach aims to improve working practices on regulated sites.

During the last series of visits at the back end of 2016, staff attended 13 sites across the region, with more visits proposed for the early part of the New Year.

To date the joint initiative has focused on sites that recycle, process or store waste metal, such as scrap vehicles and general waste metal. Operators use a variety of processes and equipment to strip, cut and burn waste to extract the key metal and components, work which has the potential to expose workers to risks to health and safety.

The aim of these visits is two-fold; to make sure the sites are operating within the conditions of their Environmental Permit to protect the environment and community, while ensuring the health and safety of workers isn’t put at risk.

The Environment Agency’s Ruth Tyson, Waste Team Leader, said:

We manage our permitted sites every single day to ensure they are operating within the law, to protect the environment and to minimise impact on the local community.

Health and safety is paramount when our officers are visiting sites and officers regularly contact HSE if they feel a site is unsafe.

These joint operations are a really good opportunity to share knowledge with other agencies and mean we look at the site from different perspectives, ensuring any issues impacting on the environment and community can be looked at together with site safety.

Inspector Victoria Wise from the Health and Safety Executive added:

An average of 7 people are killed each year in the waste industry, this includes members of the public. The main causes of death are people being run over or struck by a moving vehicle or something unstable collapsing on them.

A high number of workers in this industry are also exposed to processes that cause irreversible ill health conditions. During the last joint initiative HSE found 8 sites visited to be in significant contravention of health and safety law with 7 Enforcement Notices served.

Joint operations such as this mean we can work alongside the Environment Agency to make sure those responsible for the sites are not exposing workers, members of the public and the environment to harm from the operations they undertake.

Widespread moderate and high air pollution levels are currently being measured across many parts of the UK due to still and foggy weather conditions, with some isolated pockets of very high pollution mainly across southeast England but also possibe for some urban areas of Northern Ireland, central and eastern England.

Some very high levels are also expected, mainly across southeast England but also possibly for some urban areas of Northern Ireland, central and eastern England. Air pollution is expected to remain low across Scotland.

Current air pollution levels are due to the continuing high pressure and associated light winds across the UK.

During periods of high air pollution adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, should reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors, and particularly if they experience symptoms. People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. Older people should also reduce physical exertion.

Anyone experiencing discomfort such as sore eyes, cough or sore throat should consider reducing activity, particularly outdoors.

For those parts of the country forecast to have very high levels of ambient air pollution, Public Health England is advising people to reduce physical exertion, particularly when outdoors and especially if they experience symptoms such as a cough or sore throat. Adults and children with lung problems, adults with heart problems, and older people, in areas where very high levels are recorded should avoid strenuous physical activity. People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often.

Light winds and foggy conditions are expected to continue through Wednesday, especially across southern and eastern parts. This will lead to the ongoing risk of areas of moderate air pollution levels, along with isolated pockets of high levels. Meanwhile across the north and west increasing winds should lead to air pollution returning to low levels.

These low levels are expected to spread to all parts during Thursday and Friday as stronger winds extend east across the UK.

For the latest forecasts and health advice, please visit the Defra UK Air website and alerts for high levels of air pollution are issued by Defra via the Air UK Twitter account @DefraUKAir.

Further information:

• The 5-day forecast of predicted air pollution levels is continually updated on the UK Air website, with advice from Public Health England to allow members of the public, particularly those who are most likely to be affected by air pollution, to take action.
• We also work with health charities to make sure vulnerable people are aware of any periods of low air quality.