Good decisions being made in the Humber now will carve out the green future economy that will put the region on a stronger footing, Chamber chief executive Ian Kelly said.
He drew on the launch of the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership that paved the way for the UK’s largest enterprise zone, helping land Siemens and Orsted on patch, as he looked forward to what the freeport could bring.
Dr Kelly, giving his address at the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, praised ABP and the local authority leaders for pulling it together.
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A total of £3 million has been pledged by the four councils on the estuary’s banks to launch.
“The Humber Freeport is now being partly led from North East Lincolnshire, with all four local authorities in the Humber on board,” he said. “I pay tribute to ABP and Rob Waltham - leader of North Lincolnshire Council who pulled that together from the four local authority leaders’ group - with Philip Jackson in North East Lincolnshire, now the accountable body, for bringing that forward and being successful with government.
“The four local authorities have provided £3 million to get it going and we watch with interest how that emerges. I am mindful that when we set up Humber LEP 11 years ago, the first thing we needed to do was get an enterprise zone. We got the biggest one and one of the first calls I got was from Chris Shaw (then leader of NELC) in Grimsby with ABP and Orsted.
“Hull City Council got the site where Siemens (offshore wind turbine blade plant) is and that was why we heeded the Humber LEP. 10 years on, with Siemens and Orsted in place, and ABP thriving, we have the chance of more fabulous opportunities to go even further in the next few years to build on that renewables sector of excellence, to move forward, coming from the dirtiest cluster in the UK for carbon emissions, to take on a pioneering opportunity to be the greenest industrial part of the UK based on offshore wind and other activities.
“It will take time for the freeport and carbon zero to come out to play, but good decisions can be made now on the carbon zero agenda and in 10 years’ time there will doubtless be a pipeline to the North Sea, stopping us from being that dirtiest cluster in Britain.”
Carbon capture and storage plans are progressing on both banks, with hydrogen production for both electricity generation and heavy industry fuel-switching interlinked.
In wider reflections at the well-attended AGM at Hull’s MKM Stadium, Dr Kelly said: “It has been an extraordinary year with Covid, Brexit, the ups and downs of the economy and now with perhaps more opportunities with the Humber with a new initiative led by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove, with plans for Humber and what he is proposing.
“The A63 upgrade, our £350 million new expensive road - for one mile- which is taking a long time to do and hopefully being constructed elegantly so the whole city will glide along forward once it has been completed.”
He welcomed the return of Paul Cooper as Chamber area chair in North Lincolnshire, stating “no one has their finger on the pulse better in Scunthorpe”, and with a nod back to his Humber LEP formation partner John Clugston, Dr Kelly said: “From a Chamber perspective, having seen Clugston have some difficulties, that Alistair Clugston has rejoined, rebooting the distribution side and having become an active member, is very positive.”
Dr Kelly continued: “Brexit has been a subject of discussion because of its impact, particularly on smaller exporters, where we have seen a drop. Whether that’s down to politics or logistics issues with supply chains or red tape associated with it, and whether that’s a price worth paying for democracy and national sovereignty, is an interesting one for members.
“I look back over some of the difficulties with the British Chambers of Commerce where John Longworth (former MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber) lost his job as Director General because he took a different view of the world, yet we here all managed very elegantly with everyone accepting different points of view.”
Mr Longworth was the only leader of a major business group to back leaving the EU.
And there was praise for the Hull BID success at securing a further term, with the chamber the accountable body.
“Getting people to pay cash to keep that going is a reflection of a BID that not just leads Yorkshire but one very much shaped by a business-led board and impact with less than a £500,000 turnover is incredible. It serves Hull City Centre extremely well in partnership, particularly, with Hull City Council, but also the police and crime Commissioner and Humberside Police,” he said.
Discussions about policy and reshaping of the city centre in terms of workspaces, changing retail patterns and transport are ongoing, Dr Kelly added.
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