Queen's Gardens, Hull
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Queen's Gardens is a set of gardens in the centre of Kingston upon Hull, England. They are set out within a 9.75 acre area that until 1930 was filled with the waters of Queen's Dock. As the dock was not fully filled in, the gardens are largely below the level of the surrounding streets.
The gardens have a central avenue of trees aligned with the Wilberforce Monument to the east. This statue of William Wilberforce atop a large Doric column was moved to this site in 1935 and originally dominated the gardens. However, in the 1960s the construction of Sir Frederick Gibberd's building for Hull College behind the column has reduced its impact. The formal central axis is further diminished because the central avenue was filled post-war with Japanese cherry trees - many of which are now over-mature and showing signs of stress - and informal shrubberies have been planted in the slope at the western end between the main area of the gardens and the western "circus" of flower gardens at street level.
Either side of the central avenue there are broad areas of lawn, and another two large fountain pools. There are also smaller gardens filled with perennials, and an area at the eastern end of the gardens has informally taken on the status of a Peace Garden.
Victoria Square is at western end of the gardens, leading to the Princes Quay shopping centre and the Ferens Art Gallery. The gardens are well used, particularly by the local student population.
In 2005 the new "BBC" development was completed at the north west corner of the gardens. This incorporates a tall apartment block clad in yellow brick, which is widely regarded as being overscaled and of architectural mediocrity. In 2006 it was announced that Hull Citybuild - Hull's Urban Regeneration Company - had been working with Hull City Council to bring forward "a major public realm design competition" for Queen's Gardens and Queen Victoria Square.
This has led to some concern that planning gain to fund improvements to the layout of the gardens might be used as justification for large scale commercial redevelopment of other sites to the north and east of the gardens, following the precedent set by the BBC building, and there have been resulting calls for a more conservative approach to refurbishing the gardens.
