WHERE do you put a 22,000-tonne, 636ft-long aircraft carrier?
It is a question taxing minds in Hull as the city waits to hear if the Ministry of Defence will allow the recently decommissioned HMS Illustrious to be berthed in the city.
But it is not just officials at Hull City Council considering a potential berth for the ship should the bid be successful.
People living in Victoria Dock, east Hull, have also made their views clear on the subject.
While a floating riverside berth near The Deep is currently the favoured option of the small project team behind the bid, dock residents say they do not want the ship on their doorsteps.
They are worried about the other long- term element behind the floating berth scheme, which envisages it is used as a temporary location for HMS Illustrious before becoming a terminal for other vessels, including cruise liners, tall ships and Royal Naval vessels.
It is not so much a not-in-my-backyard protest, more of a not-in-my-part-of-the waterfront campaign.
Philip Gittens, 59, has lived in Pilots Way, overlooking the Humber, for 12 years.
He is worried that attracting more tourists and traffic to the area will cause problems for residents.
"They clearly haven't thought these plans through properly," he said.
"We already have loads of problems with parking because we are so close to town.
"Every time there is a big event at the marina, such as Freedom Festival, people just park their cars wherever they want."
It is clear that while many residents would welcome new development to boost Hull's tourism, they think the existing land-based infrastructure at Victoria Dock just is not up to the job.
Mr Gittens said: "I take my hat off to The Deep for how popular it has become, but with success comes more problems for us.
"During the summer and school holidays there are already more people than it can handle.
"With the amount of visitors these new attractions would bring, why they are proposing to build anything here is just beyond me."
It is a view shared by ward councillors who represent the Victoria Dock area.
Councillor Adam Williams said: "While bringing HMS Illustrious to Hull and having a cruise ship terminal may be good for the city, this is completely the wrong location for it.
"There are also serious questions around the costs of scheme – estimated at more than £16m – that need answering.
"Victoria Dock is a residential area. There are no roads to this proposed site and traffic is already congested at that end of Victoria Dock.
"Added to this, the potential noise from the terminal and HMS Illustrious would be a real problem for local residents.
"I have put these issues to officers at the council and want to make sure local residents are listened to."
Councillor Gary Wareing, who lives on the dock, said he believed a berth close to Albert Dock would be a better option.
"I support the idea of bringing HMS Illustrious to Hull, but it needs to be in the right place and Victoria Dock is not the right place," he said.
"People here are used to ships passing by, but this is a very different matter."
A new council report giving an update on the Illustrious project says an option to build a new dry berth within the bullnose of Albert Dock has been explored but was ultimately rejected in favour of the current idea of a floating berth near The Deep.
Among the disadvantages of the Albert Dock berth was that it would be unlikely to be constructed by 2017 – Hull's year as the UK City of Culture.
Other negatives included the likely high cost of building the berth from scratch, the complexities of land ownership in the area and the unknown cost of adapting the ship for a dry berth.
It says the advantages for the Victoria Dock option include delivery by 2017, much lower capital costs and a riverside berth closer to the city centre.
However, it also acknowledges that any successful bid for Illustrious will only bring her to Hull on a temporary basis and will, in effect, simply be a loan deal with the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Under that scenario, the report says both the council and the MoD would be entering into unchartered waters as there is no precedent for such a loan arrangement involving a decommissioned warship.
While the outcome and timetable of the current bidding process is still unclear, the council is continuing to commission further feasibility studies into both the technical and commercial challenges involved.
The city councillor leading the project has also pledged to keep Victoria Dock residents informed, too.
Councillor Steven Bayes, cabinet member for visitor destination and the UK City of Culture, said: "I understand the concerns and they have been articulated very well.
"I have offered to have a meeting with any of the residents.
"Other locations have been looked and this is adding to that information.
"I understand the concerns but I am also pleased people understand the economic benefits of having a cruise terminal in the city.
"We will work to ensure that, whichever site is chosen and however this scheme is progressed, it will have a limited impact on any residents."
