Hull’s East Bank Urban Village: 850 homes to revive a rundown riverside

Hull is moving to transform a neglected stretch of its waterfront into a new neighbourhood. The city council and the English Cities Fund (ECF) have submitted first-phase plans for the East Bank Urban Village, a major regeneration scheme set to deliver up to 850 new homes on the east bank of the river, directly opposite the historic Old Town.

The development will mix affordable and build-to-rent apartments and townhouses with commercial space, amenities and new green areas. It is kickstarted by £9.875m of Levelling Up Partnership funding and brought forward by ECF — the partnership between government agency Homes England, Legal & General and developer Muse.

A long game

This is patient regeneration. Delivery is planned across four phases, with construction of Phase 1 starting in 2027 and the final phase not anticipated until around 2040. The first phase is modest and deliberately social: 37 townhouses and 78 apartments, all allocated for affordable housing. Later phases will add more than 700 build-to-rent and affordable apartments across the wider neighbourhood.

Just as important as the homes is the public realm. Plans include reinstating the riverside walkway, threading new walking and cycling routes through the site, and creating space for shops, cafés and local businesses — knitting the new village into nearby areas including the Fruit Market.

Part of a bigger Hull vision

East Bank sits at the centre of Hull’s broader 20-year City Centre Vision, which aims to drive new homes, investment and footfall across the centre and waterfront. It is the latest sign that the English Cities Fund model — public agency, institutional investor and developer pooling risk over decades — is becoming the default vehicle for serious regeneration in the North, from Bradford to Hull.

For a city whose riverside has long underdelivered on its potential, 850 homes and a restored walkway are a concrete start on a very long, very deliberate journey.

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