Siemens investment: Now it's the real deal for Hull

It was right at the beginning of the year that German giant Siemens announced it hoped to develop an offshore wind turbine manufacturing facility in Hull. That was a landmark announcement.

Now, as 2011 draws to an close, Siemens and port operator ABP have announced that a series of planning applications are being submitted for the project. In January it was a hugely exciting possibility. Today it became the real deal.

After months of “will they, won’t they”, today Siemens effectively said a huge yes to Hull, by announcing that it was submitting, jointly with ABP, applications for the development at Hull’s Alexandra Dock. Siemens has effectively nailed its colours to the mast. It had selected Hull as its preferred site. Now, after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations and manoeuvring, Siemens has made the strongest possible commitment to the city.

Nobody dare say it, but the Siemens top brass have made up their minds. Hull is where they want to be.

Why so confident? Because it is inconceivable that Siemens would submit planning applications for a manufacturing facility if it was not committed to building it.

The very clear inference is that Siemens has ruled out suggestions that it might ditch Hull in favour of locations in Germany, Denmark or elsewhere. If Siemens has yet to finally say “I do” in its marriage with Hull, it is certainly walking up the aisle.

There appears to be just one further hurdle to overcome - the planning process. But, surely, that will be a formality. The city and wider region are desperate to embrace Siemens. Local residents have welcomed the investment, recognising the resulting employment and benefit to the local economy vastly outweighs any impact on people living nearby.

And, surely, there isn’t a single member of Hull City Council’s planning committee who will challenge a development that will bring hundreds of desperately-needed jobs and pave the way to thousands more. It should sail through.

It’s not yet time for the popping of champagne corks, but it has been a most brilliant combined effort.  And it has been, largely, a local achievement. Huge credit is due to all of the following:

·        ABP port director Matt Jukes and his team who have developed the “Green Port Hull” proposition which has proven so attractive to Siemens.

·        Hull City Council, under the leadership both of Councillor Carl Minns and his successor Cllr Steve Brady. Notably, Cllr Brady and the current Labour leadership made an important signal of local support for the Siemens plans by pledging £5m of under-pressure funds for infrastructure related to the development.

·        Hull’s MPs, who have played a vital role in lobbying for Government support to gain commitment from Siemens. Hull West and Hessle MP Alan Johnson has, as ever, been prominent, using the high-level contacts and trust he has across the political spectrum to persuade ministers that they had to do more to win Siemens for Hull, the Humber and UK Plc.

·        The Humber Local Enterprise Partnership, which has focused strongly on renewable energy as the economic opportunity for the region. The LEP has been instrumental in the rapid assembly of sites on both sides of the Humber which will enjoy enterprise zone status. Those sites will be attractive to other turbine manufacturers and the supply chain supporting this industry.

Of course, the Government has played its part, but it’s fair to say that ministers didn’t do enough initially to woo Siemens. More recent statements from Prime Minister David Cameron and others indicated they had woken up to the appalling possibility of Siemens going elsewhere.

The recent announcement of enterprise zone status for sites including the threatened BAE Systems plant at Brough and Grimsby docks, in addition to the Alexandra Dock site and the Able UK development on the south bank, was a very clear indication that ministers supported the creation of a renewable energy cluster in the Humber estuary.

Furthermore, the Government decision to halve tolls to cross the Humber Bridge will have been noted positively by Siemens and other potential investors. That decision will make the Humber a true economic entity, for the first time.

So Siemens has been convinced to invest in Hull and want to be making turbines for the huge Round Three wind farms in the North Sea by 2014. Hull and the Humber’s renewable energy renaissance has lift-off.

Now everyone involved must ensure there is no slip between cup and lip. If so, expect Siemens to be the catalyst for a series of investments in related activities on the north and south banks of the Humber. Those investments will bring much-needed jobs and prosperity that are sustainable in more ways than one.