THE future of a new pumping station that could protect about 11,000 homes from flooding is hanging in the balance.
The planning application for the station in Kingswood was rejected earlier this month.
Yorkshire Water will now decide in the next two weeks whether to appeal against the decision or not.
Richard Sears, stakeholder and media relations manager at Yorkshire Water, said: "We were extremely disappointed with the decision, particularly in light of the lengths we went to in advance to explain why the proposed development had to be sited where it was.
"The pumping station pumps excess surface water from the Bransholme and Kingswood areas into the River Hull, or into our storage lagoon on the site if it is high tide in the river.
"We had proposed to upgrade the station to ensure it is fit for the future and provides the best possible flood protection for the community."
The proposed facility would be erected next to the existing site, with the old station being demolished once its replacement is fully operational.
Yorkshire Water highlighted four key reasons the pumping station needed to be located at the site – reservoir safety, reduced site capacity, discharge to the river and the conservation area.
Mr Sears said: "If we were to locate the pumping station over a different section of the site it would have an impact on the embankment of our storage lagoon.
"The pipe infrastructure is designed to come to the site at a certain point. Moving that infrastructure and the station itself to a different part of the site would reduce the amount of water we can safely store in the lagoon and therefore reduce the flood protection."
He said the water company is committed to working with Hull City Council and residents to find the best solutions.
Residents have aired concerns about the affect the station will have on house prices as well as the appearance of the area.
Mr Sears said: "We are aware the proposed new building is very large and will have an impact on houses nearby.
"We had committed to work with the council and with residents to do all we could within reason to soften the appearance of the building."
