Hull and the East Riding must see out recession together
Date: 22/05/2009An independent report by the Centre for Cities, published today calls for Hull and the East Riding to work together to tackle the key challenges the city economy faces.
The report finds that Hull and parts of the East Riding together form one distinct city economy, spanning the north bank of the Humber. Over one third (34%) of Hull's workforce actually lives in the East Riding, whereas less than one in fifty (2%) lives south of the Humber.
The Centre for Cities recommends that Hull and the East Riding together to prioritise improving transport links to the port and driving up the skills of their workforce, so the area is better placed to recover from recession and grow in the recovery:
The report recommends:
- The two local authorities - Hull and the East Riding should work closely together to understand more about how their city economy works and consider further how this fits with Labour and Conservative plans to promote city-regions.
- The city needs to play to its economic strengths - and focus efforts on supporting its port and logistics industry. This means pushing for improved transport links to the port, including the port rail line, and the A63. It also means targeting training around this key industry.
Dermot Finch, Director of the Centre for Cities said,
"It's time to re-think Hull's economy. The city's real economy is not just confined to the Hull City Council local authority area - in fact, it spans a larger area including parts of the East Riding. For example, one-third of Hull's workforce commutes in from the East Riding. This means it's vital that the two local authorities work more closely together, to deal with the impact of the recession and prepare for the recovery."
Nigel Guy, Project Manager of Yorkshire Cites, commented,
"We welcome this important piece of research which confirms our belief that the Hull economy covers a wider area than just the city itself. This means that the local economy is more resilient than is often thought."
For more information about the report, please contact
Rosamund Taylor, External Affairs Manager
020 7803 4316 / 07876 175 426 / r.taylor@centreforcities.org
Notes to editors:
Hull: Growing the Real Economy is available at www.centreforcities.org/hull
Hull is a Partner City in the Centre for Cities research programme ‘Unlocking City Potential and Sustaining City Growth. The programme works closely with a small group of cities (Belfast, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Sunderland and York) to inform economic development strategies and improve economic performance.
This independent report was produced with support from Hull City Council and Yorkshire Cities. Yorkshire Cities recently launched a commissioned report on improving the economic resilience of Hull and Humber.
Hull city is one of the most tightly bounded local authorities in the country - around half the size of Sunderland and under a quarter the size of Barnsley. As a result national temperature checks of Hull's economic performance often focus on pockets of deprivation and low skills, and underestimate the economic potential of the real economy.
