Devolution hopes for both banks of the Humber have been honoured in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, with vital freeport benefit extensions secured.
Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire have had their proposed deals agreed by government, setting the path for powers and funding pots to head north from Westminster. Both will become mayoral combined authorities, with elections anticipated in May 2025.
The long road to further regional control had been complicated with the split of the pan-Humber local enterprise partnership, after local authorities were forced to choose a single path. It saw North and North East Lincolnshire look south, leaving Hull and East Riding to go it alone as an echo of a Humberside county model was silenced.
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It has been revealed that north of the Humber a £400 million fund over 30 years will help drive growth. Up to £15 million in 2024/25 will support transport, flood and coastal erosion programmes across the area, including a coastal regeneration programme in the East Riding. There is also £5 million in 2024/25 to support local economic growth priorities, including any further expansion of Siemens Gamesa’s blade plant at Hull’s Alexandra Dock.
Cllr Anne Handley, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “After months of hard work, I am absolutely thrilled that we can finally say we have a proposed deal and our residents can see what East Yorkshire devolution would really mean to them.
“I have said all along that a Mayoral Combined Authority is absolutely the right way forward for our region, but that it must be the right deal. I am confident we now have the right deal to begin our devolution journey.
“Over time, we will be able to negotiate new deals, as other devolved regions have, ensuring we have more funding and power to make important decisions at a local level and put East Yorkshire in control of its own destiny.”
Cllr Mike Ross, leader of Hull City Council, said: “I have always said that I would only want to proceed with a devolution deal for Hull and the East Riding if we felt it was going to be the best deal for the area. It is clear, after a lot of hard work putting the case forward for what this area needs, that we have managed to get the government to put forward a deal that will help meet the needs of the city and East Yorkshire.
“The region has been left behind when it comes to a whole range of government investment, which puts us at a real disadvantage to both the rest of Yorkshire and the country in general. By taking this important step, we will be helping boost jobs and growth, supporting our residents, local businesses and the city.”
Assurances that Hull will be part of Northern Powerhouse Rail plans have also been given. Both leaders have urged residents to give it their backing.
In Greater Lincolnshire, almost £750 million will provide more than £24 million a year in funding.
Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “Together, we share a united vision to help create the very best opportunities for our respective council areas, and for Greater Lincolnshire as a whole. There is no doubt that this proposed devolution deal is set to provide that.
“This day is of huge significance. It represents a future of collaboration, bringing with it local and direct control of the things that really matter to the 1.1 million residents of Greater Lincolnshire who this proposed new deal is for. We are delighted and now wish to take everyone on a journey which we believe is the right one for us all.”
Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, described both as “historic devolution agreements” between government and the areas, stating they will be a “step change for levelling up”.
He said “taking decisions out of Whitehall and putting them back in the hands of local communities will enable Hull and East Yorkshire to unleash its full economic potential and build upon its strengths in manufacturing and health technologies.”
Looking across the bridge, he added: “Greater Lincolnshire has a rich history and a unique place in the future success of our nation, from its world-leading offshore wind energy sector in the north to its agricultural heartland in the south.”
The proposed deal will be considered at extraordinary full council meetings, expected to be held on December 21 in Hull and East Riding, where councillors will be asked whether to proceed to public consultation on the deal. North East Lincolnshire Council will meet on November 30.
With the Humber Freeport status only launched this summer, a big ask had been an extension to the benefits attached to help deliver “transformational inward Investment”. It came, with a five year extension to 2031, announced by HM Treasury. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also announced a new, £150 million Investment Opportunity Fund for freeports and investment zone sites.
Humber Freeport chair Simon Bird: “We welcome announcements in the Autumn Statement which will accelerate investment in freeport locations. Uniquely, freeports benefit from business rates and national insurance payment holidays.
“Around £1 billion of inward investment has already been secured in Humber Freeport tax sites and these positive changes can unlock billions of pounds of further investment in the Humber, creating thousands of skilled jobs.
“Alongside our partners and the region’s MPs, the Humber Freeport company lobbied Government for many of the measures that have been announced, to enable the scale of investment we envisage to be delivered in this region to be realised. The announcements will enable freeports to turbocharge investment in UK Plc, with the Humber at the forefront of the drive to decarbonise industry and deliver green growth."
The Humber Freeport company and the Humber Energy Board are seen as vital in holding the economic entity powered by the 'Energy Estuary' together, bridging the two devolving areas.
Ahead of the statemement, a £960 million Green Industries Growth Accelerator was announced, and referenced again in Mr Hunt's speech with offshore wind, carbon capture use and storage and hydrogen all to be developed. It was another hope from the Humber that there would be stimulus, particularly for CCUS, which holds the key to cleaning up heavy industry.
