Nothing left except for the dinosaurs

The run-down area of Humber Street now boasts only Steve Plater's Dinostar business – the only dinosaur museum in the North – since the fruit traders moved to a new site in Priory Park on the outskirts of the city last November.

The area, with buildings in various states of dereliction, was temporarily spruced up in September up when tens of thousands of people watched the launch of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race from neighbouring Hull Marina.

Economic development company Hull Forward is in talks with a number of artists and creative businesses about taking temporary leases on some of the buildings, and Mr Plater said it would be a "tragedy" if they were not in place for the yachts' return at the end of the race on July 17.

He said: "This area could be a big tourist attraction. It's perfectly placed; you've got shops on one side of Castle Street and you could have lots of exciting things going on around the Fruit Market. They really have to have some activities in the buildings for when the Clipper race comes back in July.

"It would be tragic if the Clipper boats left last year when the Fruit Market was in a particular state and nothing's changed when they come back. It's just such a waste to see it empty."

The idea of siting artists and creative industries in the warehouses would echo their successful deployment for similar initiatives during the race weekend, when they housed art projects to complement a series of spectacular fire installations created by French street artists Carabosse.

Hull Forward, which now owns about 75 per cent of the buildings, said it remains committed to its long-term goal of transforming the former market into a residential area with a mixture of caf bars, speciality shops, restaurants and hotels.

A bid to reach an agreement deal with its preferred developer, the Manchester-based firm Igloo, failed nearly a year ago and progress has been hampered by the recession.

A Hull Forward spokeswoman for said: "This is something our development team are working on to really try and help the local economy, pending the longer-term development.

"We are trying to get people in to bring animation to the area, we are trying to bring the buildings back to life where we can.

"Our long-term intentions for the area haven't changed at all."