GRIMSBY had the lowest business growth and some of the worst jobs prospects of the UK's 64 largest towns and cities over the past decade, a report out today reveals.
Cities Outlook, which is published by the Centre for Cities policy institute, details the economic performance of the 64 largest towns and cities in the country between 2004 and 2013.
Grimsby, which for the purposes of the report includes the whole of North East Lincolnshire, was one of only two places to see a decline in the number of businesses operating over the ten-year period.
The number of businesses dropped by 245 – a decline of 5.5 per cent.
And as well as being bottom of the pile for business growth, Grimsby came:
Fourth bottom for population growth (0.8 per cent).
Sixth bottom for jobs growth (-7.3 per cent).
Figures for 2014 also show Grimsby had:
The fifth highest proportion of JobSeekers' Allowance claimants (3.9 per cent).
The second lowest percentage of high-level qualifications among the working age population (3.9 per cent)
The 11th lowest average weekly wage (£428).
But on a more positive note, Grimsby:
Had the 14th highest number of start-ups per 10,000 of the population (53.8).
Was tenth for the proportion of the population in manufacturing jobs (14 per cent).
Had the 20th highest ratio of private to public sector jobs (900).
Was 22nd for digital connectivity, with 78.3 per cent of postcodes having super-fast broadband.
Great Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell said the report made for "depressing" reading, and showed the need for more Government support to help the area.
However, Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers insisted that the problems highlighted in the report were being tackled.
Conservative MP Mr Vickers said: "I don't think comparing North East Lincolnshire with some larger urban areas makes for a fair comparison.
"Here in North East Lincolnshire we are addressing the issues of training and skills, preparing our young people for the opportunities that exist both in the area and outside.
"We have excellent work being done at Grimsby Institute, Franklin College, and the Catch facility in Stallingborough.
"The Humber has been designated as the site of the National Green Energy College and we have got the new British Aerospace Academy being started at Humberside Airport."
He said Able UK's proposed marine energy park on the South Humber Bank was a key example of the area's potential.
But Labour MP Mr Mitchell said: "It really is enough to make you weep. It makes us look like a little town that Santa Claus forgot.
"After all the efforts that have been put in by the council and the Local Enterprise Partnership to attract development, it's pretty heartbreaking.
The authors of the report said the findings showed that the gap between Britain's best and worst-performing cities had dramatically widened since 2004.
For every 12 net new jobs created between 2004 and 2013 in cities in the South of England, only one was created in cities throughout the rest of Great Britain.
And the report calls on the Government to devolve new fiscal powers to UK city-regions, giving them the ability to raise and retain taxes locally, or to spend their budgets according to local priorities.
Mr Mitchell said: "It is clear that cities in the south are benefiting substantially from the economic revival but the north isn't.
"We have enormous potential. The Humber is still the gateway to Europe and still much cheaper to live in than elsewhere, but unless we get more support we can't attract the industries that are going to create new jobs."
But he said devolving powers to the area was not the answer.
"The Government is pre-occupied with big cities like Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. Scale holds us back. We haven't got as many MPs to push our case and we haven't got the kind of development departments in the councils that can promote the town.
"I'm all in favour of more powers to local government, but where the problems are greater we also need more money.
"Our potential for developing the energy industry has been damaged by cuts in Government support. We had prospects in biomass and ethanol plants and they did not get Government support."
However, Mr Vickers said: "The reality is that London and the South East will always be a magnet, particularly for young people that want to pursue their careers. The important thing is that we emphasise to them the great opportunities that exist locally.
"You cannot alter the reality that city life is always going to appeal to the younger generation and we also have to recognise that much of the wealth that is generated in London is not all fed back into London – it goes into the Government pot to distribute around the country.
"And the argument that the Government is not investing in North East Lincolnshire or the north in general is not true."
MAKING GREAT STRIDES
COUNCILLOR Chris Shaw, leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, said: "While the report does look at the trend over the past ten years, this included an unprecedented period of global stagnation.
"We've been making great strides in our investment locally, particularly with the development of the energy estuary, a key energy hub for the UK on our doorstep, as well as the associated significant growth of the numbers of renewables industries and their supply chains investing in our area.
"The council has worked to ensure more than £10.4 million of government funding has been given to local companies over the past couple of years to help accelerate growth, bringing with it around nearly 700 jobs for local people.
"We are working hard to maintain that growth, and provide the residents and business of North East Lincolnshire with the tools and the ability to take advantage of that growth.
"We're also developing and delivering a number of specific business initiatives in our town centres and wider communities to not only attract new business but also maintain and support our existing business to grow and prosper.
"Recent successes have included announcement about extensions to Freshney Place, the Cartergate development and mutli-roomed new hotels in both Grimsby and Cleethorpes and we are doing everything we can to make North East Lincolnshire a great place to live, work and invest in."
