A new cross-Humber private sector-led partnership has met for the first time to map out its immediate future.
First announced two months ago in Michael Gove's Levelling Up White Paper, Opportunity Humber is set to take over the regional focus of the former Humber Local Partnership which folded last year. It is being led by consumer healthcare brand Reckitt's chief executive Laxman Narasimhan.
The Humber LEP ended when the two South Bank councils voted against its continuation as a public-private sector partnership and decided instead to join forces with the Greater Lincolnshire LEP. Since then, it's believed a number of concerned South Bank-based firms have been lobbying ministers over re-establishing a Humber-based approach to wider economic development.
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Last week's meeting held at the Reckitt site in Hull brought key partners together for the first time. They included bosses from major companies such as Siemens Gamesa, Associated British Ports, Drax, National Grid Ventures, Orsted, Equinor and Phillips 66, who will initially sit on the board.
Representatives from the region's four local councils around the estuary will also have places. It's expected a series of sub-boards will also be established over the coming months.
A report drawn up for the meeting by consultants Arup said: "Opportunity Humber (OH) is intended to act as the Humber region's forum for decision-making on long-term, strategic priorities. It is a private sector-led partnership that brings together stakeholders who, working together, can drive forward the Humber's economic future.
"OH provides the stability and coherence in the Humber's economic governance to drive change across the region.OH's integrated network of organizations strengthens the estuary's capacity to compete across the UK and beyond, maximises the voice of the region and provides a vehicle to support the delivery of agreed pan-Humber economic priorities."
Initial priorities are expected to be around ensuring the successful launch of the new Humber Freeport company and continuing work on the long-term decarbonisation of major industrial sites on both banks of the estuary.
The report said the new partnership will not only aim to operate within the region but also "engage with key businesses and assets that are strictly outside the Humber", suggesting playing a key role in attracting new potential investors. It also says its pan-Humber focus means it will be "distinct" from work carried out by the Hull and East Yorkshire LEP, which was set up in the wake of the Humber LEP's demise.
Hinting at the disruption created by the end of the Humber LEP, the report says collaboration across the estuary is vital to secure and promote economic growth. It adds: "Institutional stability, and surety that governance arrangements will not chop and change over time, is the key to unlocking investment which will in turn drive up productivity."
