The City of Kingston upon Hull is a place full of potential. Ever since King Edward I saw in it the ideal logistical base to launch his campaign against the Scots as well as a way of raising taxes through its wool exports, Hull has been the object of someone’s attention.

And as a key link between Europe and the UK it’s not surprising that both merchants and industrialists have viewed Hull as the ideal staging post to both bring in and export goods as well as reduce on transport costs by manufacturing within the town. And these geographic advantages which have served it well for over 700 years are just as relevant today as the city markets itself as both a global gateway as well as a manufacturing centre of excellence.

There is no doubting that Hull underwent some lean years towards the end of the twentieth century and the fall out of this in terms of tarnished image and lacklustre product is something the city still struggles with today. However, this should be seen as no more than a periodic downturn in the city’s fortunes and there is little doubt in many people’s minds that just as other industrial northern towns are ‘regenerating’ themselves, Hull too will bounce back.

In many ways this has already begun. The port is doing record tonnage, tourism figures on the back of developments such as the Deep, Museums Quarter and KC Stadium are growing year on year, education results have shown years of successive improvements and even the issues of corporate governance seem to be clearing up.