A proposal to pursue a second Humber road crossing should a firm tidal barrier plan emerge has been welcomed on the South Bank as further details emerge.
Ports director Simon Bird has this week suggested such a huge infrastructure project should accommodate a road - aiding port connectivity and freight movement - if it were to be implemented east of Immingham and Hull.
It came as the Associated British Ports senior executive responded to the launch of Transport for the North’s consultation on a Future Freight and Logistics Strategy.
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The barrier forms part of a wide piece of work by the Humber 2100+ partnership, an organisation uniting 12 local authorities and the Environment Agency in association with local enterprise partnerships, Natural England and various drainage boards.
It is developing a strategy to reinforce the long-term ambition for a “prosperous Humber with a world class economy and a world class environment”, which is a safe and sustainable place to live, work and visit.
Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, Philip Jackson, met with TftN last week, a sole political representative from the South Bank at the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce-orchestrated event, with Mr Bird’s comments following.
The Conservative councillor, who heads the authority within which any southern access spur would sit, said: “The flood barrier is something that has been talked about around the Humber for a number of years and to some extent it does fit in with the strategic objectives.
“As time goes by and sea levels rise it is going to be an increasing problem.
“If the Environment Agency is seriously looking at a flood barrier across the Humber, if it is an option, then it would seem sensible to make it multi-functional - so why not put it into the public arena.
“While we have flood defences at the moment, will they be adequate way into the future? We have got defences and we have mitigation measures - low value farmland that can be used as flood plains - but this appears worthy of future consideration.”
At the roundtable gathering with TftN’s Lord Patrick McLoughlin and chief executive Martin Tugwell, Cllr Jackson put forward three asks - improved freight connectivity with Port of Immingham going west, the direct rail link with London that “appears to have been postponed for another year” having last run in 1992, and quicker line speeds on the trans-pennine service.
On the flood barrier proposal, an Environment Agency spokesperson said: “The Humber 2100+ group of organisations, including the Environment Agency, is considering the idea of a barrier as a flood risk solution in future as levels of flood risk increase. This is just one of many long-term options that are being looked at for the region to manage long-term tidal flood risk and no proposal has yet been made.”
The infrastructure would need to be navigable, as it would sit downriver from the ports of Goole, Immingham, Hull and Humber Sea Terminal - as well as tributary wharves and under-development Able Marine Energy Park. It would mean some likely form of opening bridge or a substantial height requirement required to accommodate the movement of vessels carrying wind turbine towers - a key part of the Humber’s maritime offer.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council, where the northern end would potentially sit, has been approached for comment.
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