The photo shows a coach parked on double yellow lines on a blind corner with a tee junction at the entrance to Victoria Pleasure Grounds in Goole. Passengers and luggage are being offloaded into the single file road at this blind corner junction for a match. A little after 1pm, Sunday 23 February 2025.  This is what East Riding Council, Goole Town Council and Goole Town Deal Board see as safe. 

While all this was happening a transit sized van tried to turn out of the side road past the bus.

The double yellow line area was the only space the bus could pull over because vehicles were parked on both sides of the road everywhere else. Because of its length the coach couldn’t get round the corner without a lot of to and from manoeuvering because its a 90 degree corner with very limited space. 

Until quite recently the space occupied by the new building on the left was a flat concrete area which the coach could have used to get round the corner with the driver able to see what was round the 90 degree corner. However East Riding Council approved the new building on the right being constructed and also approved the Town Deal plans for Victoria Pleasure Grounds.

Round that corner, there is only pavement on one side of the road, but that was barriered to create a queue for the ticket gate. Members of the public not going to the match therefore had to walk into the road (2 lanes of parked vehicles, one lane for traffic in both directions) and the traffic at this blind corner.

Later, in a very complicated manoeuvre, the coach shunted into the side road, and then shunted back and forth until it could get round the corner to go find somewhere to park. It took another bout of shunting back and forth for the coach to be able to turn right from Marcus Street into Dunhill Road.

During last Sunday’s match, apparently a fire engine had to reverse the full length of Carter St from Boothferry Road to get into the VPG because it couldn’t get into the ground from Marcus Street due to the restricted space. It also had difficulty getting out of the ground again.

That raises the question of what would happen if there was a medical emergency at one of the homes in the immediate vicinity of the VPG? Could the emergency services get to the buildings safely and quickly? Would those in the VPG be able to be evacuated quickly and safely?

There was a wonderful opportunity to give Goole a sporting village  on the Junction 36 estate with plenty of space and good road access with all the sports facilities concentrated on one site. That could have been something the town could have been really proud of, would have helped the residents’ physical and mental health and sporting achievements in football, rugby, athletics, swimming, tennis etc. 

Instead, Goole looks set to mark its 200th birthday with the silk purse out of sow’s ear option – a nineteenth century facility with restricted space, poor road access which can’t cater for all sports so needs other sites too. The public has been intructed by councillors too see this as great news for Goole.  Anybody who questioned the plans has been labelled as negative, divisive, always running Goole down, and/or has been sidelined, maligned and attacked. When questions are raised about safety etc, it has all been given a complex structure, it is always another legal entity’s responsibility. Like much of modern life in the UK, things are set up so there is no meaningful accountability.

We really do need to keep Goole hospital - with a full accident and emergency service - to deal with the risk of carnage because of the Victoria Pleasure Ground scheme.

I did not take the photo, but I have permission to use it.