22nd May 2023
Work to improve Hull’s Queens Gardens is set to start.
From Thursday 1 June, the main work to improve the paving around the Rose Bowl and Guildhall Road will get underway.
The paving will benefit from natural granite stone, enhancing the look of the area. The paths along Guildhall Road will also be widened making it easily accessible for everyone.
Other improvements include the replacement of boundary walls around the Rose Bowl, as well as a new substation infrastructure to enable more flexible and large-scale events to take place.
Improved ramps and steps will be installed to enable better public access and much needed structural repairs to the failing boundary walls will be undertaken.
The gardens will close to the public from Monday 22 May, as local contractors C R Reynolds begin setting up on site. Due to the improvement works taking place along Guildhall Road, new parking and pedestrian access arrangements will be introduced. On-street parking spaces will be available along one side of the road only. Footpaths around the Rose Bowl will also be closed, and alternative routes will be clearly signposted.
New art installations, from internationally renowned and award-winning artists Katayoun Dowlatshahi and Heinrich & Palmer, will include integrated artworks on new amphitheatre-style seating, as well as maritime-inspired installations along the boundary of the gardens. New railings and waymarking bollards using 3d scans of artefacts from the Maritime Museum collection will also be added.
The plans also include the replanting of substantial high-quality specimens, including a range of native species where appropriate to provide seasonal colour and improve biodiversity.
Later this year, 35 Poplar trees along the centre of the gardens, that are entering the latter stages of their anticipated lifespan, will be removed. They will be replaced with semi-mature, Metasequoia trees to replicate the formal avenue evident within the original Frederick Gibberd design.
As part of Hull City Council’s policy, for every tree removed, three trees will be planted across the gardens and in other identified locations across the city centre.
Councillor Mike Ross, Leader of Hull City Council, said: “Queens Gardens is an important and cherished open green space. These improvements will futureproof the space for us all to enjoy and learn about its history for years to come.
“It’s great to see work get underway and I am looking forward to seeing it progress.”
It is expected to take 14 months to complete this element of the works.
The plans for the gardens are sympathetic to those of Sir Fredrick Gibberd, one of England’s most distinguished 20th-century architects who redesigned the gardens in the 1950s.
The Queens Gardens refurbishment is an integral part of the Hull Maritime project, as it will link the Hull Maritime Museum to the North End Shipyard – which will be the new home of the historic Arctic Corsair. The shipyard is being transformed into a new visitor attraction, which will tell its rich story for the first time.
