Hull’s Maritime Industrial Heritage: Sites of Debated Value and Conflicting 21st- Century Port-City Mindsets. Case Analysis and Suggested Learnings

Abstract

The study of Hull’s curation of industrial maritime heritage in its redundant docklands and nascent cultural initiatives depicts how values, mindsets, and visions concerning the 21st-century port-city importantly differ between urban actors. Typically, non-shareholding stakeholders seek dock preservation as evidence of their contribution to Hull’s growth, while investors favor a simplified and romanticized maritime narrative. The study of the redevelopment of three of Hull’s docks and a recent heritage-led masterplan demonstrates the lack of consensus on the dockland’s role in shaping Hull’s contemporary maritime identity. This is leading to the degradation and erasure of priceless heritage which bore witness to Hull’s maritime-industrial boom, and to a discontented working class whose heritage is dissipating. Therefore, the preservation of Hull’s unique historical identity and fairness to its inhabitants require a mindset based on a consensual compromise that is inclusive of discordant readings of the past and nuanced. Such a mindset would unite previously divided stakeholders by acknowledging the many values of contested heritage sites, thus delivering social consensus ahead of the execution of a shared vision for 21st-century Hull.