‘Our regeneration must benefit everyone’: Daren Hale’s message to Hull

Councillor Daren Hale. Picture by Neil Holmes Commercial Photography

The regeneration of Hull will be led by culture and tourism and must “spread to all the city”, the man set to be the next leader of the city council has said.

Councillor Daren Hale was elected leader of Hull’s Labour group on Monday, and is expected to become the new leader of the authority at the next full council meeting tomorrow, succeeding Councillor Stephen Brady OBE.

Asked about his vision for Hull in his first in-depth interview since becoming group leader, he said: “We believe we could be part of that commitment of councils such as Preston and others that intend to tread a different path, by saying it’s important to have economic regeneration but it’s also important there’s community asset-building. It’s important that regeneration is spread to all the city.

“It’s about an equal development across the city. It’s not about one shiny part and somewhere else suffering; it’s about everybody benefiting from regeneration.”

Coun Hale also said that as the city begins to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic it could see a boost in visitor numbers over the summer due to restrictions on foreign holidays, and Hull’s emerging status as a tourist destination.

It will also be well placed to benefit from tourism in the longer term by making more of its natural assets as a “water city” , which makes it unique among Yorkshire cities, he said.

“We see culture as a key regeneration tool, bringing people to the city,” Coun Hale said.

“Who’d have thought 20 to 25 years ago Hull would be a potential tourist destination, a popular resort for day-trippers and overnight stays from home and abroad?

“Obviously Covid knocked the edge off that and has put that regeneration back slightly, but coming out of Covid lockdown, and probably most of us will holiday at home, there’s a real opportunity for us to make a lot more of that this summer with our natural assets, and our museums, galleries and theatres.

“Most cities do not have this beautiful vista of water around it, and around the Fruit Market area. Cities with water where the sun shines are just so much more pleasant places to be; that is something we are justifiably proud of, and that is a catalyst that has led to more demand in city living.”

‘BEAUTIFUL VISTA’: Hull Marina. Picture by Tom Arran Commercial Photography

He added: “The fact we are a city of water with rivers, we’ve never really made enough of that or our nautical past, which is our unique selling point. Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City project will do just that and lots of people will come to visit.

“You can’t do that in York or Leeds or other cities, you can only get that in Hull.”

He also said making Hull a desirable place to live and work in helped attract investment. “Arco decided to stay because they like the vitality of the city, they like what they see,” he said.

The Labour group leader said the seeming abundance of roadworks that have caused so much congestion in the city were a necessary part of improving infrastructure for investment, and were actually a sign of success.

He said: “The fact we are having to do a lot of road improvements now is because there’s more cars on the roads, and because there’s more development going on.

“On Kingswood there’s huge demand for housing in that area so we’ve had to build capacity around road development in Stoneferry - it’s a success story. We have to build the infrastructure to support the development.

“And we have to make that a better environment for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and public transport users, and that’s what we are trying to do. Success is not without its challenges.

“We have found it’s no accident we have had the biggest road improvement programme for the last 30 years in the last two years. And that commitment from the council to that investment and infrastructure has obviously helped settle the deal with some of those investment decisions.”

Hull is also the region’s leading builder of new homes, Coun Hale said.

“We’ve had the biggest number of house starts in Yorkshire and the Humber, and we are probably the only city in the North to hit its targets over the last five years,” he said.

“So every year we’ve hit our targets, which is a sign of confidence in the economy. I always say follow the money, and businesses are happy to invest in Hull and house-builders are happy to build in Hull.

“There is demand for Hull and a confidence about Hull and where it’s going and where the vision is, and sometimes that’s perhaps more obvious from within the business community than some of our communities. We’ve got to say to people get that vision across; there is a plan and there is a vision.”

INVESTMENT: The new lido planned for Albert Avenue

Coun Hale said evidence of the council’s commitment to spread investment across the city could be seen in improvements to East Park, Pickering Park, Beverley Road Baths, and leisure facilities in Albert Avenue, the latter of which is to have a lido again after a 25-year absence through a £4.6m refurbishment.

He said: “We are committed to developing across our neighbourhoods. We are particularly proud of the fact we are going to rebuild our lido in Albert Avenue, which is one of the poorer parts of the city.

“Although there’s been renewed interest in lidos around the country, traditionally, if you look where they are they are all in fairly wealthy, middle-class neighbourhoods, so we are bucking the trend there.

“The reason being that it’s in a poor community, people have less means to travel, and equally, those facilities in East Park, where we did up the splash boat, again, lots of those young people won’t only not have a foreign holiday, they won’t have an annual holiday.”