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City centre gardens to fully reopen on Friday

Allan WatkissEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
News imageHull City Council The completed Queen's Gardens in Hull. There are newly planted shrubs, flowers and trees, with freshly-laid paving. Apartments are in the distance.Hull City Council
Queen's Gardens in Hull has undergone a major restoration

Queen's Gardens in Hull will fully reopen on Friday after a three-year regeneration project.

The work included new boundary walls, paving, accessible ramps and steps, and new landscaping and tree planting.

Hull City Council said it was designed to create a welcoming and inclusive green space for residents and visitors.

Council leader Mike Ross said: "Queen's Gardens is one of Hull's most loved green spaces, and it's fantastic to be able to fully reopen it to the public following such a significant and carefully delivered transformation."

News imageHull City Council A view of the Rose Bowl and fountain in Hull as construction work takes place in Queen's Gardens. There is a cream-coloured fountain in the centre of the image surrounded by a circular path and large, raised lawns and flowerbeds with trees. Construction fencing and vehicles are in the background.Hull City Council
The restoration forms part of a wider city centre project

Queen's Gardens sits on the site of the former Queen's Dock, which was filled in during the 1930s.

In recent years, sections of the gardens were closed to the public because of health and safety concerns linked to structural deterioration, with the full scale of the problems becoming apparent only when the regeneration work got under way, the council said.

It meant a large part of the project involved engineering work beneath the surface to improve ground conditions, and the rebuilding of the perimeter walls, which were in danger of collapsing.

News imageHull City Council A large pond filled with clear water and a dark blue mosaic-tiled floor. The pond is surrounded by a concrete and stone edging and the water carries the distorted reflection of what appears to be a large office building nearby.Hull City Council
Blue mosaic tiles were uncovered during the cleaning of a pond

The gardens closed for the work on 1 June 2023. It was originally expected to take 14 months and cost £14m, but it ultimately cost £21m.

The project led to some surprises, including the uncovering of a mosaic tiled floor during a clean-up of a pond and the discovery of a cast-iron cannon, which is thought to date back to the 17th Century.

News imageBBC/Becki Bowden A black iron cannon laid on a wooden pallet on the ground. Behind it is an orange excavator. There is metal fencing to the left, with white and blue banners reading "CR Reynolds" on them.BBC/Becki Bowden
The barrel of a cast-iron cannon was found during the work

Ros Southern, director at Southern Green Landscape Architects, said: "This project has not been about papering over the cracks.

"Hull has done a proper job, starting with the required engineering, making tough decisions such as removing unsafe trees, and then adding high quality design and materials to create a park landscape that will last for many years to come."

The Queen's Gardens project is part of the wider Hull Maritime regeneration programme which includes the refurbishment of Hull Maritime Museum, the creation of a new visitor attraction at North End Shipyard – home to the restored Arctic Corsair – and the restoration of Spurn Lightship, which opened in March.

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