Blow for Hull as City of Culture marketing boss quits after six months

People dance next to the Philip Larkin statue in Hull after the city was named as the UK City of Culture 2017.

Alison Flint, the city’s Director of Marketing and Communications, will be out of her post by the end of the month, the council announced.

Chief Executive Martin Green said Ms Flint’s decision to leave had been made “with grace and at the right time for the project”.

He added: “I am pleased she has decided to stay with us until the end of May to ensure a smooth transition to a successor and wish her every success in her next role.”

Ms Flint, who was previously head of marketing in Liverpool during its year as European Capital of Culture, said she would take up a new opportunity in the North West.

She said “This has been a difficult decision but it is the right time to take it as the team comes out of the planning phase and works towards delivery.”

There have been rumblings of discontent in Hull that City of Culture officials have not communicated enough with community groups. Blogger Michelle Dee said: “There’s a general sense that they haven’t done enough talking to the community.”

Another commented: “So far they haven’t tapped the social media and creative excellence that is here at a local level.”

A search for Ms Flint’s replacement has begun, with marketing man Phil Batty, Hull’s director of Education and Legacy, covering the role in the interim.