Battle to save £60m wind turbine fund

The fund, announced by Labour in the March Budget, raised hopes of creating thousands of jobs around the Humber but is still under review by the coalition Government.

Now Hull's three MPs, including Shadow Home Secretary Alan Johnson, have appealed for a meeting with Business Secretary Vince Cable to try to save the funding.

Major companies including Siemens want to set up factories in the UK to build turbines for offshore wind farms in the UK but the Humber is facing fierce competition to attract them to sites on the north or south bank of the river.

"You will know that the German firm Siemens proposes to invest in a Wind Turbine Plant in the UK and that Hull is well-placed to attract this work, given its location about 12 hours steaming time from the three off-shore wind farms being developed at Dogger, East Anglia and Hornsea," says the letter.

"Your officials are well aware of this situation and, under the previous government were offering 60m of funding for ports to upgrade to cope with green energy production.

"The other countries that are keen to attract this investment will no doubt be very pleased if your Government cancels this promised funding and thus damages the economy in Yorkshire and the Humber, which already has far higher rates of unemployment than any other part of the country.

"We urge you to lift the moratorium and confirm to Siemens that this help remains available."

Regional development agency Yorkshire Forward has been leading efforts to attract manufacturers to the region, which could bring an estimated 10,000 jobs. The Humber is seen as a strong contender because there are suitable sites and the turbines could easily be towed out to sea.

A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said the fund was still under review.