The Northern Way in Hull and the Humber Ports
The Northern Way initiative was launched by the government in September 2004. Its aim is to develop the full potential of the north and narrow the £30 billion economic divide with the rest of England.
The initiative unites the three northern regions of England (the north east, the north west, and Yorkshire and Humber) and outlines a number of key investment priorities for the north of England -
- bring more people into employment
- strengthen the north’s knowledge base: drive innovation
- build a more entrepreneurial north
- capture a larger share of global trade: key clusters
- meet employer skills needs
- the north’s connectivity
- create truly sustainable communities
- market the north to the world
The Northern Way initiative also placed the north’s eight City Regions at the heart of the drive to promote faster economic growth.
- Liverpool/Merseyside City Region
- Manchester City Region
- Leeds City Region
- Tees Valley City Region
- Central Lancashire City Region
- Sheffield City Region
- Tyne and Wear City Region and
- Hull and Humber Ports City Region
Each City Region was tasked with producing a City Region Development Programme (CRDP) to show the unique contribution each City Region makes to the economy of the North. These were published in June 2005, alongside Moving Forward: The Northern Way Business Plan 2005-2008.
The Business Plan 2005-2008 outlines a £100 million Growth Fund. This has been established by the three northern Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). This will help to implement, further develop and inform the Growth Strategy.
The real challenge at the heart of the Northern Way is to make even more effective use of the £60bn of government spending in the North.
There is a new confidence and energy in many of our northern City Regions. Hull and the Humber Ports, along with the other 7 City Regions across the north, are championing a renaissance that few would have believed possible a decade ago.
This renaissance has been supported by the local authorities, the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) – Yorkshire Forward and their delivery partners, such as English Partnerships (EP), the Housing Corporation, and the new Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs) – Hull Citybuild.
The Northern Way - what will Hull be doing?
Together with its neighbouring local authorities North Lincolnshire Council, North East Lincolnshire Council and East Riding of Yorkshire City Council, The Humber Forum, Yorkshire Forward and other public sector partners, Hull has developed a strategic prospectus for the city region. This outlines the current and future potential contribution to building a thriving Northern economy. The prospectus was published in May 2005.
The Hull and Humber Ports CRDP vision for the City region is of a global gateway – with a thriving, outward-looking sustainable economy building on its unique assets of location, the estuary, ports connectivity, and physical environment.
The Hull and Humber Ports CRDP states that there is an opportunity to combine private and public sector investment to transform the fortunes of the City region. This transformation will deliver wealth and employment to the people of the City region, and will bring increased of productivity to the UK.
The Hull and Humber Ports CRDP seeks to build on the City Region’s strengths, to realise our vision main elements of the CRDP are to:
- create a more entrepreneurial culture including university level provision on the South Bank of the Humber; a worklessness pilot in Hull; and promoting an entrepreneurial culture in schools.
- improve connectivity by addressing key transport bottlenecks particularly those which impede access to and form the Humber Ports and improving public transport within the City region and with other City Regions.
- prepare our places for growth by ensuring that: value is added to passenger services and good flowing through the ports; the City region’s extensive waterfront is optimised both as a business and residential location; and by investing in creating sustainable communities through a wide range of regeneration, environmental and housing market investments.
Use the link on the top left to visit the Northern Way Website.
City Region Development Programme (size: 5.5 Mb) 
