19 new ‘buzz shelters’ have been installed in the city, all with green roofs designed to provide food and shelter for bees and other pollinating insects at risk from habitat loss.
Hull City Council has installed the ecological shelters at bus stops on Hall Road and Hedon Road, replacing shelters that were in poor condition.
The project has been made possible by a £96,865 grant from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, so comes at no cost to council taxpayers.
Cllr Mark Ieronimo, Portfolio Holder for Transportation, Roads, and Highways said: “I am thrilled that the eco-friendly bus shelters are now in place. This project has been great on many levels, with benefits to our local communities and the environment."
“These shelters are something people can be proud of, and they go a little way towards encouraging more people to use public transport.”
The council has been working on getting the shelters ready for the past couple of months, along with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, community urban garden groups, and local schools.
Children from Parks Academy, St Anthony’s Academy, Southcoates and Thorpepark Primary schools have worked with local artist Mike Sprout to design some of the artwork for the shelters, which all feature scenes related to Hull or wildlife.
Fittingly, one of the shelters is dedicated to Jean Bishop, Hull’s own Bee Lady, who spent many years fundraising in Hull while dressed in a bumble bee costume. Mrs Bishop died in 2021 at the age of 99, having raised around £125,000 for Age UK.
Other notable people include Clive Sullivan MBE, Amy Johnson CBE, and William Wilberforce.
Andrew Gibson, from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said:
“This project demonstrates that even small urban build projects can have nature, water storage and carbon storage built into them through clever design."
“The roofs are designed to be sustainable and withstand both drought and down pour, which we will see more of with climate change.”
The project was funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025.
The fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.
