Relief road and 1,800 new homes plans for Howden welcomed by Mayor

A new urban extension will include 1,800 homes, an extension to kitchen manufacturer Howden’s, a supermarket, medical centre, primary school and sports pitches.

The town council has been pushing for the relief road to be built ahead of any development.

The extension is so large because it includes hundreds of homes that will no longer be built in Goole because of a flood risk assessment two years ago, which found lives could be put at risk if there was a breach in the banks of the river Humber.

Hybrid plans have been submitted by developers which includes a full planning application for the road and industrial unit as well as outline planning proposals for the rest of the development, including the housing.

Howden's Mayor Coun Hugh Roberts said the proposals, which will be discussed by town councillors in the coming weeks, are "well designed and thought out".

He said the town council "had basically forced" the developers and East Riding Council to do the road first.

East Riding Council would design and build the road connecting Thorpe Road to Station Road, and would later recoup the money from the developers, he said.

Work on the 1.8km road will start at Thorpe Road and initially go to the back of Howden's.

It will provide an alternative route for through-traffic, avoiding the existing route via Flatgate and Hull Road within Howden town centre.

Mr Roberts said HGVs coming through Howden had been a "massive problem" since the M62 was built.

"It should have been bypassed then.

"It's now a B road but people are still coming through and HGVs are taking a short cut to come down through."

He admits that so many new homes will generate more traffic, but said the developers would encourage people to walk and cycle.

Shared-use foot and cycleways will be provided throughout the new estate on both sides of the relief road

Mr Roberts said a lot of people moving into Howden were from the West Riding "and are coming here for quality of life through some issues over Covid and want to be in the countryside, a more rural environment.”

The plans state: "We did not want the road to become a soulless place, undesirable for people.

"Rather than a vehicular bypass, it should be an attractive, shared space, welcoming for all, including nature."

"A strong driver for the design was, therefore, for houses to overlook and to create a tree-lined, well landscaped avenue".

They add: " The existing route is currently traversed by a number of vehicles, including HGVs and farm traffic, and so it is expected that the majority of these movements would be diverted (supported by a local signing strategy) to instead use the proposed relief road."