Why Hull is a city that continually punches above its weight - Andy Steele

I doubt there’s a city anywhere else in the UK with so many ‘self-made’ success stories. Why is this the case? Is it our tough, fishing industry DNA?

Could it be the fact we’ve been overlooked for government support for so many years we’ve just had to roll our collective sleeves up and get on with it?

Maybe it’s the fact that we’re the end (or start!) of the M62 motorway/railway line and people have left us to it?

Not that long ago the city’s football club teetered on the brink of topping the Premier League (admittedly only briefly) and was leading in an FA Cup final (even more briefly!).

During its tenure as City of Culture it attracted over five million visitors to the cultural activities, installations and exhibitions of 2017 and was even able to tempt The Turner Prize outside of its London comfort zone.

The city also boasts a top 60 university and The Deep (arguably the most successful of the Millennium projects).

Again, following on from the City of Culture, Hull is about to become part of the nation’s tourism and heritage landscape once its £30m Maritime City project, celebrating 800 years of seafaring history, is completed.

This is a huge investment around the River Hull.

We also have a booming renewable energy sector, with the soon-to-be expanded Siemens wind turbine factory the flagship operator.

Indeed, the Prime Minister said in the summer: “The Humber region embodies the UK’s green industrial revolution, with new investment into developing the next generation of wind turbines set to create new jobs, export opportunities and clean power across the country.”

And we’ve just seen another successful Waterline Summit organised and hosted in our fair city highlighting the Humber as being at the forefront of tackling climate change.

In the last few years, Hull has also welcomed a massive growth in the digital sector with the number of digital and tech start-ups choosing us as their base, with the Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) in the recently developed Fruit Market playing a key role.

Hull is also the only city in the UK to have its own telephone network (provided by KCOM) which meant the rollout of fibre optic broadband was quicker here than in most other cities.

The future looks bright too with ongoing improvements to the main thoroughfare through the city centre which should speed up traffic to and from the nearby port facilities.

And let’s not forget the £130m redevelopment of Albion Square and further plans to move the ice arena to empty land near the newly-opened Hull Arena concert venue, which has already attracted the likes of The Vamps, The Courteeners and Elbow.

I do think, though, that a large contributing factor to the fact our city punches above its weight in so many different ways is the marvellous community spirit like the one I witnessed at the Sailors’ Children’s Society event in question (where over £50,000 was raised!).

Businesses in Hull often support one another, buy from each other when possible and there is a fantastic networking/ support framework for burgeoning entrepreneurs to tap into.

Hull is a brilliant place to do business and, in my role as Ambassador for the Institute of Directors, if you’re thinking of starting up or opening a branch in Hull, I’d be more than happy to meet up for a coffee in one of our wonderful independents and tell you more.

By Andy Steele - Director of 360 Chartered Accountants

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