Today should have been The Business Day, the climax of Humber Business Week. Coronavirus has claimed the 700-strong celebration, where the future of this economic entity may have been in the minds and speeches of some of those involved, alongside imported inspiration and ideology.
David Laister spoke with a key figure behind past days at Bridlington Spa, Stephen Parnaby OBE, as he settles into the role of interim chair of Humber Local Enterprise Partnership.
Facing Covid-19 recovery, Brexit or the harmonisation of a devolution divorce splitting an economic entity at its strongest point are big enough tasks to take on in their own right - former East Riding Council leader Stephen Parnaby OBE is looking them all straight in the eye.
A seasoned politician, whose business interests have ranged from poultry to petrol filling stations, caravan storage to kitchen manufacturing, he is keen to wash his hands of the controversy behind his selection - put down to personalities - much as government has, and he is keen to move forward.
With such an agenda ahead, he sees little merit in visiting old ground across all elements that have led to where we are now. But there’s a desire - and a need - to have some pan-Humber platform, and he sees the LEP as the vehicle still, though what type, and how many gears, remains to be seen.
“Everyone has got the two issues to deal with, recovery and Brexit, no-one else has the third one to potentially complicate it,” he said of the tasks-in-hand as devolution sees a North and South split. “I think we can make it uncomplicated, if there is a will on all sides, and that has got to be the key.
“Whatever has gone on in the past, that needs to be left there. People have made their minds up where they see their future and I totally respect that and I want to help them achieve that - but people don’t achieve anything talking in rooms, it is what happens on the ground.
“There is a will from everyone I have spoken to - businesses, local authorities, other stakeholders - a willingness that something needs to be retained across the Humber. There are things that can’t be separate and things we wouldn’t want to separate. Everyone is keen to see something established there at the same time or before combined authorities move to mayoral elections. It is really important.”
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Mr Parnaby doesn’t want a protracted, prolonged period on what it will look like though.
“If we spend the next two years worrying about detail and governance then what for the recovery, Brexit, the impacts there? We need to make sure we don’t miss out.
“Everywhere, people are putting forward recovery plans, and we are no exception to that. There are some exceptional things in the Humber, and the government needs to have confidence that we can deliver that.”
The LEP has made huge strides on the energy and decarbonisation dual agenda, and momentum on ports, logistics, the chemical sector and transport remain too.
“Money will be there, we need to be at the forefront, we need the confidence of the government, to tell, then prove to them, we are working as one, with one voice,” he said.
“That’s the LEP, the local authorities, universities, all other business organisations, they need to get behind this so we speak as one.
“I am not interested in trying to respond to people or score points, we should all be mature enough to work for the good of the economic recovery of the region and what its future will hold.
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“Sometimes to kick against things does not help, we’ve got to embrace the situation and see what the opportunities are.
“I think there will be a lot of opportunities - we in the Humber LEP feel if it morphs into something else, that we want to be there to aid and assist with the South Bank and the North Bank, whether we’re directly involved or partially.”
Greater Lincolnshire is uniting, with North and North East Lincolnshire looking to Lincoln and the ceremonial county, while Hull and Mr Parnaby’s former authority unite on the North Bank for delivery of more strategic-level services.
And Mr Parnaby is very clear on what needs to stay under a Humber umbrella.
“Freeports is something really key to this,” he said, of the work with ABP to deliver another huge shot in the arm for the estuary-led economy.
“The bid goes in for the Humber-wide freeport, which would be massive, and can be extended in corridors - it could be the airport, parts of South Yorkshire. You cannot make it too complicated, but we have got to get the plans there. We know the Humber ports are the busiest ports in the country, and we need to expand upon this if we get freeport status. It makes it a great place to do business and move forward. We have got that and most people agree with that.
“Decarbonisation is another strand, and we are particularly affected by that with heavy industry, and that has got to be treated as a Humber issue and again, I’m sure there will be grants and different things leading on from that. That is part of the huge green agenda, and it is something we can really pull together.
“We also need to capitalise more on the offshore industry than we have in the past. Most of the offshore wind farms are very close to the Humber and we need to capitalise on that and make sure the Humber benefits on a construction, manufacturing and servicing level. We are in competition, there is the likes of Tyne and Tees Valley, but we need to ensure we as the Humber work together.”
Dogger Bank recently went north, with hopes harboured it could be landed on the Humber, having enjoyed success with the earlier round three Hornsea Zone, building on world-leading near-shore activity in Grimsby.
“On transport, with Transport for the North, we need to be really involved there on the East to West strategy,” Mr Parnaby said. “Leeds to Manchester has a huge amount of traffic, that is long term and hugely expensive, we can deliver something looking north and south too, to the East Coast Main Line, electrification. It can be done relatively quickly and we need to be at the table with Transport for the North, working on these issues, and it needs to be Humber-wide.
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“Another thing that unites us is flood prevention. It is almost unseen as it is not creating jobs, but what it does is protects those jobs and makes the Humber somewhere where people are not concerned about investing in. We have had estuary issues before, other types of flooding, we receive about one fifth of the 海角视频’s water. We need to be ambitious in our ambition - we need to be careful not be too ambitious - but things are worth putting forward.
“I’m delighted the lagoon is on the table, it is something if studies prove it is right, and it can be proved can be done, could be transformational to this area. It might not be possible, at least let’s find out.
“We need to concentrate now on some of these major issues and how they can help the recovery of the economy.”
And how that recovery shapes, and how long it takes is front-of-mind too.
“No-one knows what’s going to happen,” he said. “One of my great concerns is when the furlough scheme comes to an end, and how much unemployment there will be. It will take a long time for a full recovery, to get back to full employment.
“We have an area that actually relies heavily on the visitor economy, and that will take a long time to recover. The caravan industry is connected to that and that is a major industry.
“There are issues around British Steel too. A lot of these may have a bright future, with the tourism industry, people may prefer to stay here, or at least in this country, and big infrastructure projects - rail and the like - will need steel.
“We have lots of advantages, lots of land, capability, an estuary, a river, good connectivity - it could be better - but good connectivity with rail and motorway.
“We also have Siemens Mobility, one of the biggest train manufacturing sites in Europe, with talks going on where potentially, other things could be brought through to the area, other investment.
“It is not all doom and gloom, we have got to try and pull positives out of this. Out of every disaster there is alway some good to come out. We have got to be smart about finding what these are. We have got to be aware of the reality, help industry recover and some of the big players, but also, we have got to think what could be transformational in this area. If we all work together, from a government point of view, we are pushing at an open door.”
He has welcomed recent Castle Street and Yorkshire Energy Park developments, so too the potential of the Grimsby Town Deal and Lincolnshire Lakes. Skills, also, with Hull and Lincoln universities and the likes of Catch and Ron Dearing UTC highlighted. “We have to look long term, albeit other organisations may lead,” he said. “The dualling of the A15, the dualling of the A1079, long term projects that need to start somewhere.
“We want to be absolutely transparent and let the business community know these are our plans.”
On the handover, he flagged the unanimous support of the LEP board, with all but two members of Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce, from where chief executive and vice president raised objections right down to Westminster. The latter had been a fellow candidate for the permanent role before Humber devolution was declared dead in the water.
“Since I have started I have had countless messages from businesses wishing me well,” he said.
Of his predecessor, he said: “I thought Chris did a tremendous job from a very shaky start. There was lots of mistrust across the Humber, often suggested it was local authorities, but I think it was more than that.
“What he did was bring it all together and focus the region on how the economy works.
“He may have given up the chair but he is still around, sharing all his connections built up, not just in the political sphere but in business also. We don’t want to lose that.”
And reflecting on what could have been today, he added: “One of my roles is the ambassadorial role, engaging people, and it would have been The Business Day, 700 people in a room, what a great pity that isn’t on.
“It is an unusual time at the moment, but I’m a glass half full person, let’s see where we get to.”