As a local, what are your thoughts on this piece? It's from the national conversation on immigration and focuses specifically on Hull.
http://nationalconversation.uk/hull-where-regeneration-has-accompanied-immigration/
"Hull was once the UK’s third largest port. But fishing quotas, containerisation, the loss of manufacturing industry, together with poor road and rail links dealt Hull a severe blow. Jobs were lost and people moved away dried up much of the commerce in this once thriving city. In 1931 Hull’s population stood at 309,000, but by 2001 it had fallen to 244,000. People continued to leave Hull at a time when other northern cities were seeing a reversal of their population decline and were growing. By 2009, Hull was the UK’s poorest city in terms of average weekly wages, its housing stock was dirt cheap and its schools were under-performing.
Decades of decline have now started to be reversed, with the city centre and the old docks seeing considerable regeneration. There has also been recent investment from large companies such as Siemens. Hull was the UK City of Culture in 2017 which brought many visitors and jobs to the city, as well as £100 million for civic improvements. Most of the citizens’ panel had attended City of Culture events which seem to have contributed to a growing civic pride in the city."
Is that a fair representation or are they factually wrong in some way?
I'll start to answer some of the things that was in the article by going back to the 1980s when I lived in London. I met many people from all over England, Scotland and a few from Wales. The most people I met were from Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow. I did meet people from Hull but they were down for the Rugby League cup final on August bank holiday. Most went every year for the event and made a weekend of it and they still do. In 1980 the two teams met and Hull Kingston Rovers beat Hull FC.
It wasn't until I was leaving London in April 1988, that I met a bloke in a pub who was from Hull. We had been up the previous October and bought a house outright for 16 grand, our 1 bed flat in Harlsden sold for 50 grand after we bought it for 40 grand 18 months previous and with my redundancy money from Ford's we could buy this house. He told me all about Hull the good areas and the bad ones, not surprised as I was brought up in Netherton, Bootle and lived in Kirkby and Wavertree. I asked him why didn't I meet more Hull people in London and he couldn't really answer it. The cheapness of the city amazed me and the wife. Which is one reason not many people leave. The drop from the 1930 to now was similar to all major cities. The population stabilised in the late 1980s.
A good many students stay in Hull after they graduate and with the increase in numbers means more stay overall which has altered the graduate to population ratio. The city is overwhelmingly a working class city with very few middle class enclaves, most professionals move out to Beverley or to other outer places just outside the City boundary in East Yorkshire. There is a lot of council estates dotted around the city and up to the boundary. There was a programme on Radio 4 last year interviewing those young people who left for university in other cities, and they are returning in ever increasing numbers whereas before those that left, few in the 1980s and 1990s until the explosion in university numbers, most stayed away and stayed up north rather than going south. I went to Beijing and Australia over the Christmas period and New Year and I was surprised by how many people I talked too, who said they know someone who had emigrated to Australia. It seems like those that leave Hull, half go abroad.
The area we moved to was almost exclusively white which was strange after multi cultural London. The only people of colour I saw were Asian shop owners. You saw very very few non white people in the city. That was until the Kosovan crisis in the late 1990s when Hull took in a lot of refugees mostly males. This caused tension in the city and there were numerous 'issues' with a fair few scraps.
Most settled around an area in Hull - Beverley Road/ Newland Avenue/Princes Avenue which is where the University is so there are a lot of houses/flats to rent. The added influx meant that there became less and less derelict houses. This meant there were more people around and local people felt the area was getting better. The upshot was that they brought their cafe culture with them and one gentleman got help and opened a cafe in Newland Avenue, - a Kopite with his lfc flag, which was a dying shopping street and the shop keepers were always moaning and complaining about something or other, even though it was close to the University.
Another notable observation was that they started to frequent the local park which had its fair share of white drinkers. As most of those that arrived were 'barred' from working they would hang around. Some people did feel threatened seeing so many non white faces but also the size of the groups. They would congregate in parks and the city centre. Those that frequented the parks would play football and this seemed to encourage more and more people into the parks as there were less and less drinkers who moved elsewhere. The parks in Hull are fantastic, and you are never more than a stones throw from one and there is always loads of families with children in them and they don't get vandalised as they as are respected by people. Which makes Hull a good place to bring up kid's. As far as the schools go, as an ex secondary school history teacher, they are no different than those in working class Bootle.
The area around Newland Avenue saw an increase in shops turned into cafes mostly by those from Kosovo and the influx of people from the middle east. The cafe culture had arrived to Hull with a vengeance.The upshot is that you can't move for cafes and they are always have loads of people in them as they attract loads of Hull people and the students got attracted to them. Now the area's shops are open for business like never before as east Europeans arrived and open their shops. This enabled a 'boom' in empty shops occupation and revitalised some areas.
From a stretch from Newland Avenue to Princes Avenue to Spring Bank - mentioned in the article - cafes, restaurants of all nationalities, pubs have opened. This has taken trade from the city centre and the odd thing is that while the city centre is dead in the evening Newland Ave. Princes Ave and Spring Bank are busy thriving, even at the weekends. That area is the 'place to go' so much so that Stagecoach extend bus routes to take into account this.
All the immigrant communities that have come to Hull has made a valuable contribution to the city and this is recognise by most people in Hull. At university my dissertation was on the Irish in mid nineteenth century Kingston-upon-Hull. Hull was unique in the country as three of the most prominent people in the City the owner of the local newspaper - The Hull Advertiser - , the chief of police and the medical office were all Irish. Hull had the 10th largest Irish population and they were very much welcomed and Hull never saw any of the anti Irish incidents that occurred in other cities. So acceptance of others from different places is not unusual. Scousers are quite liked in Hull and have been for a long time as the two cities shared not only the docks but other industries and would unite when they were after a pay rise or took industrial action.
The city has the feel of optimism after the city of culture but it was there before that was in no small part due to immigration. The people of Hull are the biggest critics of Hull but this is changing and people feel a lot more positive about the city. Yes, they were and still are complains about how more people put more strain on the health service. But there has been money put in to opening health centres in all areas and not just where there is more immigrants. The influx of East Europeans has led to an increase in families and that has resulted in school numbers increasing and the employment of more teachers and non teaching staff. Volunteering overall for the City of Culture and for every event, outstripped how many they said they would like and a good many are still doing this on a voluntary basis.
Immigration has had a very positive affect on the city. Yes there are those that don't like immigrants and make it known but as soon as there is an incident people rally around. My wife helps out at Hull for Refugees and they get loads of support from people and raise money, send clothes and toys to France and Greece. At car boot sales they do well with no comments about 'not helping those' for instance. Organised events are always packed and there are learn English classes that has loads of volunteers.
The job market is very fluent and a lot of immigrants get work through agencies or are employed in the shops and cafes. You will hardly hear people say 'they are taking our jobs' mostly because they do the jobs that some people not working don't want the cleaning, health care, low paid etc.. There are a lot of minibuses that go over the bridge to Lincolnshire to pick the fruit and veg and also to east Yorkshire. They are the pickers and packers that not many people want to do.And as a result spend money in the city adding to economic activity.
As that report says, "Most local residents have made the association between migration into Hull, investment and a reversal of the city’s decline. Greater prosperity has had a positive impact on most people in Hull and contributed to a growing and inclusive civil pride in the city. We felt that our visit to Hull showed how regeneration can help improve community relations where its benefits are shared fairly".
Hope this gives you a better incite into Hull. Why the majority of people voted to leave the EU, was certainly not down to just they don't want 'those Poles' in the city or country. Immigration was an issue as was local services, the roads, the NHS etc. as if it was a general election. And a lot of people voted to leave to give, 'that Tory Cameron a good kicking'.
