Building from the ground up.
It was appropriate that last week I spoke at the UK’s biggest conference in its sector - Housing 2025. Making more affordable housing available, that is right for local people’s needs, is a massive priority.
But we’ve also got a huge building job on as a whole, as a new Combined Authority.
As I set out in my response to the Government’s Industrial Strategy, Hull and East Yorkshire (HEY) has the foundations to power economic prosperity and growth right across the North, and wider in the UK.
High growth sectors for HEY such as Advanced Manufacturing, Life Sciences and MediTech, New Energy including hydrogen and nuclear fusion, AI, Agri-Food and more are all prominent in the strategy. We have a Freeport ideally sited to be a gateway to the North for international trade, with the capacity to create 7,000 jobs and £650 million additional investment.
But we have to reverse years of underfunding. We are making the case at every opportunity. Last week at the Transport for the North board meeting, we discussed how rail electrification must extend way beyond York to the East Coast. Proper connectivity will join our Freeport up with millions of people and key sites across the North.
And at the Housing 2025 Conference, I spoke about the links between health and well-being and housing, and what this can bring to us. I highlighted we have 5,000 homes ready to go on brownfield sites. Government funding would help us start tackling the housing shortages right here.
We have to fully construct our case. Our Local Growth Plan and other strategies are vital to show Hull and East Yorkshire has a credible, deliverable road map. Giving Government the confidence to invest more here.
We’re trying to reverse decades of unfair treatment and provide a bigger, stronger voice for the region. It’s a massive project but we’ve definitely put our spades in the ground.