In particular, the town of Paull will certainly be inevitably by impacted by the closeness of a variety of manufacturing plants and plants, making up the crucial support industries making up Siemens’ ‘ supply chain.

Councillor John Dennis, East Riding of Yorkshire Council:

“This is brilliant! As the present Mayor of Hedon, and Ward Councillor for South West Holderness, I am of course absolutely delighted at the long awaited news of Siemens finally committing to their project. It is excellent news for the City of Hull, for the East Riding, for the wider Humber Region, and very importantly, for our local communities too. The development will potentially bring thousands of jobs to the area, and I expect we will see many of them going to our own residents.

“We appear to be leaving the dark days of the recession behind, and in a local context, this news is great for the local economy. However, without wanting to put a dampener on things, there are a number of potentially adverse aspects that we have to be mindful of, and the main one is the possibility of a substantial increase in our already severe flood risk.

“The Town Council in Hedon, and the Parish Councils of Preston, Paull and Thorngumbald have all had been involved in discussions about the project from the initial stages 3 or 4 years ago, and in those discussions we have constantly banged on to anyone who would listen, about the potential increase in flood risk which millions of square feet of industrial development could create.

“We must continue to put pressure on Planners to ensure they incorporate robust and enforceable conditions for developers to follow, not only on flood risk issues, but also to ensure that other impacts on the local communities are minimised. In particular, the village of Paull will be inevitably by affected by the proximity of a number of factories and plants, comprising the vital support industries which make up Siemens’ supply chain. The Enterprise Zone between Saltend and Paull will be used for such activities, and we need to push for mitigating measures to be installed to reduce the visual, noise, odour and dust pollution which may affect the village.

“As far as the Town of Hedon is concerned we have had considerable success, during consultations on the emerging Draft Local Plan, in ensuring that no significant development will occur within the town boundary, at least not until flood risk within the town is reduced drastically. It would destroy all that good work if development of the land between Saltend and Hedon is allowed to occur without major flood-alleviation measures being incorporated. We also need effective tree-belt screening to be created, and have told planners that the development of that site should be carefully phased, to ensure the least visual, noise and odour impact on the town. This will inevitably be an erosion of the vital green space between Hull and Hedon, and we need to ensure it has the least impact possible

“So, all in all it’s an excellent day for us, but there’s still much work to do to try and ensure local communities don’t find themselves disadvantaged.”

Councillor Graham Shaw, Chair of the Paull Parish Council says:
“The announcement is great news for the region and the investment will result in the creation of hundreds of sustainable jobs.

“As you are aware, Paull Parish Council have submitted their ideas of how the enterprise zone on the outskirts of Paull can be developed to provide the manufacturing capabilities needed by Siemens, maintain a ‘green’ separation zone, provide opportunities for recreation and amenity and put in place flood protection and mitigation for the village and the development sites.

“These ideas have been widely shared with the interested parties and I hope they are willing to engage with the Parish Council to develop the site to the benefit of all now that Siemens have confirmed their intention to invest in the area. We are certainly keen to work with Siemens and the planning department going forward.”