Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority has unveiled a 10-year Local Growth Plan that Mayor Luke Campbell said is designed to transform the region into a magnet for investment, with a blueprint that has already secured Government approval. The strategy, published this week, is built around four core pillars known as the ‘Big Plays’ and identifies major opportunities at Humber Freeport, Hull’s Western Docklands and Bridlington Bay, while also targeting improvements to transport, housing and local business support.
The Four ‘Big Plays’
The Growth Plan is structured around four central pillars intended to capitalise on the region’s existing economic strengths. Under ‘Powering our industrial future’, the Combined Authority aims to harness the area’s manufacturing and energy base, which already contributes around one-fifth of the region’s gross value added – more than double the national average. ‘Backing local business’ focuses on identifying and supporting firms with significant growth potential, particularly those able to connect into supply chains of growth-driving sectors. ‘Building skills and good work’ seeks to improve pathways to training, higher skills and better job opportunities for residents. The fourth pillar, ‘Connecting and enabling growth’, concentrates on upgrading transport, housing and digital infrastructure to facilitate economic expansion.
Mayor Campbell, the former Olympic boxing champion who was elected as the region’s first mayor in May 2025 representing Reform UK, said the plan’s ambition was deliberate. “Yes it’s ambitious, but it should be,” he said. “We can get there, we can do it. Everything in the Growth Plan is possible. That’s the exciting thing. There’s nothing in there that’s unrealistic.”
Investment Sites: Freeport, Docklands and Housing
The plan identifies several major investment zones. At Humber Freeport, the Combined Authority aims to attract up to £3 billion and create around 5,000 new jobs over the next decade, with more than £2 billion already secured across its tax sites, which include Hull East, Goole and Immingham. Key sectors targeted include renewable energy – offshore wind, hydrogen and biomass – chemicals, advanced manufacturing and logistics. Major investments already secured include LanzaTech’s sustainable aviation fuel facility and Metsä Tissue’s tissue paper mill.
Hull’s Western Docklands is earmarked for an ambitious regeneration project that could deliver new homes, employment space and destination developments. The Western Docklands Masterplan, endorsed in July 2022, considers a new location for the cruise terminal, proposals around the Smith and Nephew site, and development aspirations for significant plots. It also addresses the shortage of employment land and Grade A office space in the city, supported by infrastructure improvements such as A63 corridor enhancements. Flagship city centre regeneration projects include East Bank Urban Village and Albion Square.
For housing, the Growth Plan identifies sites with strong development potential across both Hull and East Riding. Land to the south of Thorpe Hall in Howden is suggested to have capacity for more than 1,800 homes. The devolution deal that created the Combined Authority also provides £4.6 million in devolved capital funding for building new homes on brownfield land.
On transport, the Combined Authority has secured £100 million for the next three years through the devolution deal. From April 2026 it will take on accountability for bus services, aiming to control fares, routes and service quality – drawing inspiration from Greater Manchester’s Bee Network, which Mayor Campbell has previously admired. A new Transport Manifesto will address resident needs, including concessionary fares and franchising, and a long-term Strategic Transport Plan will guide investment. The mayor said consultations were under way. “We’re in the process of setting up consultations and me going round the region, talking to people on the doorsteps, talking to local Parish Councils and residents on what their needs are for transport and what’s missing. All that residents are after is a reliable, affordable way for them to get from A to B as smooth as possible.” He added: “I want people in the region to spend in the region. I don’t want to drive people out of the region to go spend in York, Sheffield, Leeds, or Manchester.”
Backing Local Business: A Central Strategy
The ‘backing local business’ Big Play is given particular prominence in the Growth Plan, with the Combined Authority committing to “identify and support industries and firms that have significant potential to drive growth in future and those that can directly connect to supply chains of growth driving sectors to support them to meet their full potential”. The region already boasts a diverse economic base, with manufacturing and engineering, business services, retail, health and social care, public sector, and leisure and tourism as key employment sectors. Global companies such as Siemens Gamesa, Smith and Nephew, and Reckitt have a presence, with major investments anticipated to create over 7,000 jobs. The Humber ports are crucial for UK trade, handling significant volumes.
Despite these strengths, the region faces persistent economic challenges. Overall productivity in Hull and East Yorkshire is below the national average, and the median annual salary ranks among the lowest of all Mayoral Combined Authority areas. The region has also had to contend with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising cost of living, high energy prices and the effects of EU exit. The employment rate stands at 75.4%, the fourth highest among MCA areas, but skills gaps and productivity shortfalls remain barriers to growth.
The Growth Plan’s strategy for backing local business is intended to address these issues by targeting support at firms with the highest growth potential and linking them to the supply chains of sectors such as renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and logistics. Public consultation on the devolution deal that underpins the Combined Authority found that 60% of Hull residents and 48% of East Riding residents agreed the deal would help address the region’s priorities. The top public priorities included improving local transport, regenerating local communities, and business investment and growth – all of which the Growth Plan aims to tackle. Businesses and organisations also prioritised business investment and growth, alongside skills and training opportunities.
The devolution deal itself is a Level 3 agreement that provides the Combined Authority with new powers and a £400 million long-term investment fund – £13.34 million per annum for 30 years – to drive economic growth. It also includes Mayoral Capacity Funding and gives the mayor specific powers in housing, land acquisition, and local transport plans, including bus franchising. The mayor chairs the Combined Authority board, working alongside councillors from Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The phased transition to public transport control is expected to be complete by March 2027.
Economists have cautioned that the Humber region, heavily reliant on manufacturing and construction, remains fragile and could be significantly affected by rising energy prices, supply chain disruptions and potential job losses stemming from global events such as the Iran war. Persistent productivity and skills gaps also need to be addressed to fully unlock the region’s economic potential. The Growth Plan, however, sets out a comprehensive framework for the next decade, with the Combined Authority aiming to turn these ambitions into reality through the delivery plans attached to each Big Play.
