THE country may be emerging from the "worst recession of our lifetime", but prospects for the Humber are now better than they have been for half a century.

Lord Haskins of Skidby said he was now more confident about the area's future than at any time in his 50-plus years in the region.

The chairman of the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership first came to Hull 56 years ago, after meeting his future wife at Trinity College in Dublin.

But he admitted he had learned more about the Humber since being appointed chairman of the LEP less than three months ago than he had over the previous five decades.

Speaking about the Humber's future, he said: "I am more confident about the prospects for this area than I have been for fifty years.

"The reason is because I can now see a way forward.

"For fifty years, this area has been on its way back in terms of jobs and prospects.

"But now we have a huge opportunity ahead of us."

Lord Haskins pointed to the huge opportunities presented in renewables, particularly with the proposed Siemens development in Alexandra Dock.

He said: "The original investment there was going to be about £200 million. I belive in three years time that could increase to one billion pounds.

"That is a very exciting prospect.

"For every one job Siemens creates, there are going to be about six jobs behind them.

"I went to see (former energy secretary) Chris Huhne and he said, with Siemens, we have got the jewel in the crown nationally."

Lord Haskins said he was particularly encouraged by the Siemens approach to training.

He said: "One of the first things Siemens did when they first came here was ask Hull City Council for welders, which the council provided.

"They turned out to be the wrong type of welders, but it didn't matter – Siemens said they would train them.

"That is the difference between us and a German company's way of doing business."

While Lord Haskins said the future was looking bright for the region, he pointed out that the Humber had suffered more than its share of hard times in the past.

And he said it was now crucial that the Humber "made its own luck and opportunities", particularly in light of

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global economic problems.

He said: "We are experiencing the worst recession we have ever seen in our lifetime – you have to go back to at least the 1930s to see experience of such a recession.

"And it is not over. Things are going to get worse before they get better, particularly in the public sector.

"But there is a small light at the end of the tunnel.

"The US economy is getting better and the Eurozone will survive. Things are getting better but the recovery is feeble.

"The divide between the north and the south of the country has been a bother for me since I first came to this area, and the gap is getting wider and wider.

"That is a sad thing.

"But our economy is just about holding its own.

"I want to be in a position where instead of going to London and pleading for support, I will be saying to London 'This is what we have got, you come to us'."

Alan Johnson, MP for Hull West and Hessle, also spoke this week about the bright prospects ahead for the Humber.

He said that "for once" he felt politicians, both locally and nationally, had "underplayed" the significance of these opportunities.

He said: "When the fishing industry in the Humber declined, I am told by many people that Hull had the opportunity to take advantage of oil in the North Sea. I am told we didn't rise to that challenge because the north and the south bank wouldn't work together.

"As a result, we lost that opportunity to Aberdeen.

"I really do believe renewables again gives us an opportunity to provide jobs and investment on a scale of what oil did for Aberdeen.

"These opportunities are predominantly because of our location, but securing them will depend on our endeavour to make a partnership across the Humber."