For anyone who reads this blog regularly, or looks at the archived posts, I always try and follow up on stories I’ve blogged about before. Call it tying up loose ends or being like a dog with a bone, I like to plot progress. Especially when it comes to Hull.

Back in November I contemplated plans to incorporate a train station stop near the KC. At the time, I fell into the “not sure it would work” camp, which as it turns out, was the right side of the fence to fall.

Latest reports suggest that “hopes of developing a new rail halt next to the KC Stadium in Hull look certain to be dashed”, so it’s a good job I never got worked up about it anyway. The obvious reasons have been quoted – “little prospect of attracting funding”, “not a priority”, “over 5m costs to develop”, “running costs”, oh, and “technical problems.”

But let’s not forget the potential bigger problem? Good rugby crowds may be one thing, but is it justified for Championship football??? Ouch

This article about Hull City Council amused me on the BBC’s news website

“People asked to criticise council”

“Hull council is appealing for people to volunteer to criticise its councillors and policies.”

I had a little chuckle as given attitudes towards Councils in general, and specifically Hull’s, I can’t see it would be difficult to round up enough people to help. 

Then again, I checked it out on the Hull City Council’s website and turns out they don’t mention criticism directly, but rather they “encourage residents to have their say in the decisions that are made”.

It’s all part of the ‘if it’s local be vocal’ campaign and the latest step is to recruit these scrutiny co-optees which look at the “council’s policies and procedures, solving any problems along the way and assisting in making sure that the best interests of Hull and its residents are fully considered.”

Sound like a good job for you? Find out more here

I simply couldn’t believe it that Newcastle United pulled that result out of the bag last night. I just never seriously thought they would do it and was banking on a 1-1 draw.

So, Hull City’s fate now rests on Bolton, oh, and Man Utd winning the title before they play us so that Ferguson fields a baby team for the last match.

Predictions? 

It’s not looking good….

I’m banging a particular drum again this week, about how we always seem to be at the bottom of league tables, surveys and labelled as the “worst place to live”

I came across Country Life magazine earlier this week, which has ranked East Yorkshire as the worse country in England. They compiled a list of the 40 counties and rated them from the best (Devon) to the worst (us), and then put everyone else somewhere in between.

To be fair, it’s quite a comprehensive list they’ve put together, getting data from the CPRE, the Met Office, Defra and Natural England to name but a few. They’ve also included figures like rates of recycling, property prices, successful pubs and top schools. They even consult the entries from ‘Who’s Who’.

The good news is, we did well on “light pollution” and “tranquility”, as well as the “arts” and our “green” credentials, although obviously not enough to pull us up from the last spot.

But someone has to prop up the bottom, don’t they? And I take pride in being able to offer a peaceful, tranquil environmentally sound setting, in which to enjoy a spot of culture and art… (although not heritage, we didn’t do so well on that front either).

Analysis from The Work Foundation has revealed which areas are suffering the most from rising unemployment during the recession – and yes, you’ve guessed it – Hull has been hit badly.

The stats show the largest rises in the number of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance (outside of London) and Hull is actually fifth in the top ten cities to be suffering, with the jobless increasing from 8062 in Feb 08 to 13366 in Feb 09.

It may come as no surprise, after reading time and time again about key businesses in Hull closing down or laying off employees. In fact, here at Cityvisitor, we’ve noticed a 15% rise in job searches and a 56% rise in the number of people looking for recruitment agencies, so it is clear that people are struggling.

The increase in just a year is still staggering though, and despite more talk of “green shoots” in the press, it’s certainly not reflected in any of these cities listed in this top ten – which, it must be pointed out, are all from either the North, Scotland and Midlands.

You can see the table here, or if you’re hunting yourself, look up employment agencies in Hull

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, stats are notoriously difficult to believe, let alone the spin that surrounds them.

However, even I couldn’t quite believe the following two articles which appeared on the Hull Daily Mail’s website:

Article 1, featured online on Tues 7^th April

“Burglaries in Hull at all-time low”

Quick summary: Hull has always had a bad reputation for being a hotspot when it comes to burglaries, but new figures are showing that offences are dropping in our local area. Burglaries have fallen seven per cent from April last year to the end of March this year, which has been attributed to a specialist team set up to tackle house burglaries just over two years ago.

Yet….

Article 2, featured online on Tues 14^th April

“Hull eighth-worst burglary hotspot in country”

Quick summary: People in Hull have an above average chance of becoming a victim of burglary and we are ranked as the eighth worst hotspot in the UK. In fact, we are 37% more likely to be burgled than the national average.

So there you have it, burglaries are up AND down.

Admittedly the Mail acknowledged that the latest survey results come just a week after revealing that Hull’s burglary rate was at an historic low, but it just when you thought it was safe to go out…

Interestingly, the stats both come from obvious sources – Humberside Police will understandably go to great lengths to take pride in their successful targeting of burglary, whereas the second figures (ranking us eighth) are from Endsleigh Insurance. Now, what would be their interest in allowing us to believe we are at risk do you think?

While I can understand the fuss made about Google Street maps from a privacy point of view, it’s still rather amazing to get such stunningly clear photos on a street level.

I’m actually more inclined to kick up a fuss about Google’s choice of location. I mean, understandably, it takes time to film the whole of the country and you have to prioritise some places over others. But for Google to choose 25 top cities and not include Hull in the list is simply unbelievable!

Especially, when you see the cities that made the final cut:

1. London
2. Edinburgh
3. Leeds
4. Bradford
5. Cambridge
6. Cardiff
7. Belfast
8. Birmingham
9. Manchester
10. Liverpool
11. Oxford
12. Sheffield
13. Nottingham
14. Derby
15. Bristol
16. Coventry
17. Glasgow
18. Aberdeen
19. Swansea
20. York
21. Newcastle
22. Dundee
23. Southampton
24. Norwich
25. Scunthorpe

Disgraceful.

Apprenticeships have featured a lot on the news recently, and even Sir Alan Sugar has jumped on the bandwagon, being the “new face” for encouraging more apprenticeships in a high-profile advertising campaign.

The majority of the coverage has focused on how apprenticeships can add real value to businesses and that although many are struggling with the recession, now is the best time to be looking at developing talent. There’s even a Government target of reaching 130,000 apprenticeships completed by 2010.

If you’re a business owner in Hull, is it something you have ever thought of? To be fair, Hull seems to be playing its part; the number of apprentices qualifying in this area has increased dramatically in the past couple of years. Some 840 people passed an apprenticeship last year, compared to only 450 in 2003/04.

So, how do you tap into this wealth of enthusiastic workers? Or perhaps you are a young person wanting to enrol on a course yourself? Hull City Council website on training and development is a good place to start, which you can find here

Once again I return to the issue of the Humber Bridge as it has been the subject of much debate recently, including gathering support in Parliament.

Two big events are being lined up:

The first is a protest march cross the Bridge tomorrow, organised by Humber Action Against Tolls, which starts at 9.30am on Saturday 28^th February. (I always love walking across the bridge, but once my dog got freaked out by making the mistake of looking down through a small hole and she saw the water swirling below – I wouldn’t recommend it.)

The second is a public inquiry meeting, which starts at 10am on Tuesday 3^rd March at Willerby Manor. This is a meeting, chaired by an independent planning inspector, to decide whether to approve the proposed toll increase (which would mean a rise from the current £2.70 for a car to £2.90).

Campaigners are calling on protestors to descend in great numbers for the walk, as well as for the public meeting, to make their views clear to the planning inspector. We seem to be drifting between no tolls, £1 tolls and now a whopping £2.90. Here’s hoping it’s not the latter…

It’s not often that you see hoards of women dressed in pink putting themselves through considerable amounts of pain (whether it’s actually on the day, or the training leading up to the event). But it’s for a fantastic cause and worth every ounce of energy.

Your chance to see it all is on Sunday 31^st May, at 11am, when the Hull Race for Life kicks off. It’s always an amazing event, which strikes the very delicate balance of emotion and high excitement.

To register, visit Raceforlife and join in one of the 230+ events being held across the country from May to July. The aim is to raise over £60m to fund Cancer Research UK’s work, which you can read more about here 

(In case you missed it last year, the race is at Costello Stadium on Anlaby Park Road North, HU4 6XQ)