Hull and the Humber: Recession-proof?

What never boomed may be less prone to go bust AS THE winter sun glances off luxury boats in Hull’s marina and the fine statuary of its civic buildings, shoppers throng the spanking-new St Stephen’s shopping centre. The prospect of recession or even depression seems remote. But a new survey of English regions by local councils released on November 17th puts the area around Hull among those most at risk of big job losses right up to 2012. A miscalculation, says Mark Jones, head of regional development at Hull City Council. There are several reasons why Hull is better equipped now than when recession hit in the 1970s and 1990s. Trawler fishing, once its mainstay, is no more. “Last year we didn’t land one fish,” says Gareth Russell, head of operations at the ports of Hull and Goole. Now Hull’s main companies make health-care products, food and chemicals, which are essential enough not to be spurned in a downturn. Ports in the Humber estuary, including Hull, Goole, ... (link)