Latest news with #HumberBridge
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Friends to cross Humber Bridge in wheelbarrows for mental health charity
A group of landscapers will attempt to cross the Humber Bridge in wheelbarrows, raising cash for a mental health Scholey, 25, along with three others, hope to complete the challenge on Saturday, taking it in turns to push and be said: "Men sometimes need that push from one another in life, and we're local landscaping lads of course." Cash raised will go to Mysterious Minds, a Hull charity that supports families affected by suicide. Mr Scholey added: "Mental health isn't really spoken about around us men and it's got worse over the years. We want to show people you can talk about it. "I'm going to start by pushing. I'll have my Weetabix in the morning. If I get tired, someone can push me." Ashley Harris, 31, who is also taking part, said: "I've known people from school who've lost their lives to mental health and we've all struggled ourselves at some point."We just want to show other men in the city it's OK not to be OK." The journey will start at 09:00 BST at Darley's pub in Hessle and finish in Barton upon Humber.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Humber Bridge: Overnight tag lane closures for toll upgrade
Overnight tag lane closures are scheduled on the Humber Bridge as the project enters phase two of its toll system upgrade. The New Tolling System (NTS) will see booths removed for the first time in the bridge's 44-year history, with payments being made through a website or on the scheme began in March and the first phase of civil engineering works have now been next phase involved installing a new gantry, meaning overnight tag lane closures will be in place from 20:00 BST on Thursday until 05:00 BST on Friday. During the works, motorists would still be able to cross the bridge in either direction, with or without a HumberTag, but only using the toll booth lanes, a Humber Bridge spokesperson advised drivers to allow for extra time for their journey during these hours. The scheme is expected to launch in late Autumn. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
20-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Hessle Country Park mural painted in bid to deter vandalism
A mural has been unveiled at a country park in an attempt to deter Effect by Emma Garness has been painted in a pedestrian tunnel at Hessle Country Park and celebrates the surrounding land and was designed in consultation with the Friends of the Humber Bridge Country Park group and the Humber Rescue lifeboat area around the Humber Bridge has been plagued by vandalism, including memorial benches being damaged and a newly-installed flood barrier being smashed. The mural was painted by students from Malet Lambert School, Hull, and members of Gilberdyke Youth Garness said she was thrilled with the pupils' work."They were all a massive help, and as a group they were a force of nature," she East Riding of Yorkshire Council spokesperson said: "In our experience, other sites benefitting from a mural rarely, if at all, suffer from more incidents of graffiti, meaning that there is a long-term improvement to the visual amenity of the area and no cost to the public purse in removing it."Lyn Healing, the council's cabinet member for housing and public protection, said the authority was committed to tackling issues such as graffiti. "This is a fantastic initiative and it's great to see so many volunteers play an active role in improving our communities," she to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
The Independent
12-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Does Britain need its own Doge to cut government waste?
Albeit thus far confined to Nigel Farage and the crankier corners of social media, calls have been made for a UK version of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). Examples of 'waste' in public spending – notably in overseas aid contracts and research grants – have been cited as egregious examples of profligacy (possibly unfairly, stripped of context). Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also expressed interest: 'I said that we need to reboot [and] rewire the state. This is what we have to do. And I'm looking very closely at what they are doing in Doge.' Is there waste in the British state? Yes, just as there is in every nation – and, indeed, every private enterprise, charity, family budget and anything else that involves spending money and allocating resources. Every system is capable of being gamed and abused. Often it is actually far from hidden. Historically, such examples in Britain would include: the cost of rebuilding the Houses of parliament in the mid-nineteenth century; the Humber Bridge; the Concorde supersonic aircraft; various NHS integrated IT systems; defence procurement programmes (most recently for the troubled Ajax armoured vehicle); and of course bogus Covid contracts and aspects of the HS2 programme. These were not examples of the 'deep state' and bureaucrats subverting democracy, but merely incompetence or poor judgement carried out in plain sight. On that basis, there is clearly a need for better financial control, if not for some sort of Doge. What are we talking about? President Donald Trump, for his own reasons, likes to lump fraud, corruption and waste in with legitimate spending authorised by Congress on things he doesn't like. That is not only a danger to sensible public administration, but also a political opportunity for a leader to abuse the system. For example, if you are inclined to dismiss all non-emergency overseas aid as intrinsically wasteful, and all social security benefits as legalised sponging, then labelling everything as 'crazy' makes sense, but it would not be necessarily constitutional, lawful, fair or efficient. What could a British Doge do? As an advisory body (as was originally intended in the US) it could supplement existing structures and watchdogs, carefully classifying questionable expenditure into the following categories: * Outright fraud, which is a matter for the police and specialist agencies, and can be referred to them for further action * Corruption, ditto * Poor value for money, which could be referred to the new Office for Value for Money set up by Rachel Reeves, as well as the National Audit Office and the Commons public accounts committee * Policy issues that are not necessarily wasteful. A prime example is expenditure on public sector jobs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. These are properly a matter for ministers and MPs * A British Doge could also examine local government and public bodies such as the NHS, DVLA, HM Passport Agency, Natural England and so on (though they already have audited accounts) Is there much waste? Care needs to be taken. Often, closer inspection of spending denounced as ludicrous reveals that it is quite sensible, if it happened at all. The £100m spent on the HS2 'bat tunnel' is a disgrace to Sir Keir Starmer, but not to those who put nature and the survival of rare species and ancient woodlands first. The bat community would certainly think it money well spent. Similarly, for example, self-appointed waste watchers have picked on the £841,000 awarded to a research project entitled: The Europe that Gay Porn Built, 1945-2000. Yet would we condemn such studies relating to Ancient Greece? If you think the taxpayer should not fund academic research about history then fine, but it is not fair to use homophobia and 'waste' as a weapon. Would a British Doge be an excuse to slash public spending and gut foreign aid? There is that danger, yes. It's also quite possible a British Doge, like the Musk version, wouldn't live up to expectations. Tragically, the Commons treasury select committee has already criticised the Office for Value for Money as 'an understaffed, poorly defined organisation … set up with a vague remit and no clear plan to measure its effectiveness'.
BBC News
08-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Humber Bridge Farmers' Market return date confirmed
A farmers' market will return to East Yorkshire in April after a five-year Humber Bridge Farmers' Market, held at the Country Park in Hessle, was paused in 2020 due to the Covid-19 October, the Humber Bridge Board announced it was linking up with Little Hummingbird Events to bring back the markets on a trial first market will be held on Sunday 6 April, from 09:00 to 14:00 GMT. In a statement, Little Hummingbird Events said: "We are excited to confirm that we have finalised all the plans with Humber Bridge and are happy to confirm that the infrastructure is being put into place."The company added it was keen to recruit helpers "to advise us with issues on the ground on the day".It said it also wanted to hear from anyone from a local farming background "to ensure that local and small businesses have the opportunity to trade with us on a regular basis".Andrew Arundel, chief operating officer at the Humber Bridge, previously said the organisation was "really excited" about the return of the market."There's not been a week go by when someone hasn't asked via email, or at the booths, or via social media when the market is coming back," he to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
