Iain was impressed to see a new sculpture this week based on Hartlepool's history and legend.

The sculpture entitled The Hartlepool Tale is a bronze sculpture of a stag with a monkey on its back that is holding a cod.

The sculpture is currently on diplay at Hartlepool Art Gallery, in Church Street and creator Julia Wager is hoping that a larger life size version could be built and installed at a location somewhere in the town.

Iain is supporting the idea and said

"I think the sculpture is great and it is an interesting take on what is our civic symbol.

"We have to appreciate in the current climate, there will be no public money available for this sort of thing, but I hope private and corporate sponsors may be able to assist."

PD Ports, one of the major companies driving Teesside’s ambition to become a centre of excellence for the European wind energy sector, recently hosted a Chain Reaction conference in Hartlepool to build support for the concept.

Representatives of local companies, as well as local MP Iain Wright, listened to presentations outlining the major opportunities and challenges facing the renewable energy sector.

“We need to act now to build the facilities and infrastructure for the wind farm manufacturers if the UK is to develop a sustainable renewable energy manufacturing and logistics sector,” says Paul Barker, PD Ports Development Director bulks, ports and logistics. “This is the perfect opportunity for the Government to back UK manufacturing and exporting while at the same time making sure we meet our commitment to its 2020 renewable energy targets.”

Speakers called on the Government to make sure planning consent procedures for renewable projects were both transparent and fast and that access to the national grid be made easier for those already generating alternative energy.

Other parts of Europe benefit from significant levels of public subsidy which makes it more difficult for the UK to compete, so the local North-East companies are working together to launch Chain Reaction, the Teesside Renewable Energy Supply Chain Cluster.
They believe that by working together, they can offer the range of skills and facilities needed by those seeking sites for their businesses – including those making hardware for the industry and providers of components for that hardware.

“We have the skills, the facilities and the determination to blend the experience of the past with the vision needed to make this new industrial revolution work,” says Mr Barker. “The people here have the engineering skills to work with the new technologies which will be used to produce everything needed for both onshore and offshore wind farms.”

The Port of Hartlepool, part of PD Ports, is already building a reputation as a centre of wind energy expertise on its 50ha site. The port hosts JDR Cable Systems, a leading cable manufacturer for renewable energy projects, and Heerema Fabrication Group, which specialises in the engineering and fabrication of large and complex structures, mainly for the offshore oil & gas and energy industry.

With a large brownfield area, Hartlepool is ideally placed for companies manufacturing and supporting wind energy projects. Its location as the closest UK port to Dogger Bank (the Government’s largest designated offshore wind farm zone), its open access to the North Sea, and a workforce with experience and expertise in dealing with large and outsize cargo, makes Hartlepool the obvious choice for this business.

Iain Wright, MP for Hartlepool, says he is very happy to back this initiative.

“The Chain Reaction initiative has enormous potential to secure Hartlepool and the wider area as a centre of excellence for wind energy. This will help to create jobs and produce wealth and prosperity for the region. I give Chain Reaction my wholehearted support and will do all I can to work with the team to make it a success”.

It wasn’t bad, was it!

I am, of course, referring to the Tall Ships event from the past couple of days. As someone who did not organise it, I can be as objective as I can and pay a full tribute to all those at Hartlepool Borough Council and elsewhere who put on such a spectacular event. The organisers truly did the town proud, and it is hard to think of a better four days. In my mind, the Tall Ships exceeded all expectations and showed what Hartlepool as a town can achieve. Hartlepool may be a small town, but it has big ambitions, and in the past few days that was demonstrated time and time again. We as a town can do this again, and bring more kudos and – let’s be honest, much needed money – to Hartlepool.

It’s estimated that over a million people flocked to the Tall Ships over the course of the four days. Many came to Hartlepool for the first time, and in the many warm and friendly conversations I have had with strangers in the past week, I find it difficult to think of one which had a bad word to say about the town. All were incredibly generous in their praise for Hartlepool: they came to see the spectacular Tall Ships, but they left enthusing about the warmth and generosity of Hartlepudlians. Time and time again people were saying to me: everybody from Hartlepool smiles and talks to you. The reputation of the town has increased in leaps and bounds over the past week – people are going to the far corners of the globe talking up Hartlepool – and frankly, it’s not about the ships we had in dock, it’s about the friendliness of the people. You should all be very proud of yourselves!

If only a small proportion of the million visitors come back to the town, that could provide an enduring legacy for Hartlepool that could reach into the tens of millions of pounds each year. Not only that: business was done as part of the Tall Ships event. On the last day, I attended a seminar hosted by PD Ports that invited businessmen and women who were seeing the Tall Ships to see how we can bring more well paid manufacturing jobs and businesses to Hartlepool on the back of renewable energy. There was a buzz about the week which meant that these business people were impressed by the facilities and the scale of Hartlepool’s ambition, and I believe jobs will come as a result.

What pleased me as I was walking around was the number of Hartlepool families enjoying the Tall Ships. I had worried before the event that this might be seen as something for outsiders and that because of traffic chaos or whatever Hartlepool people wouldn’t join in. Nothing could have been further from the truth: it was Hartlepool’s party, and I think from my experience at the event that Hartlepudlians had a great time and were so proud that it was their town that was hosting this spectacular.

As well as paying tribute to the Council for organising it, I also want to thank the Police. To have a million people in four days, and to have alcohol served, must turn most police officers’ hair white. But the event passed with only a handful of incidents, which is a remarkable achievement. This was because I think most people wanted just to have a good time and not cause trouble, but it was also because of the way the event was policed: well staffed, but never too overt.

Praise must also go to the many volunteers who gave up their time to assist with a variety of tasks to help the event run smoothly. Organisations such as the RNLI are so often taken for granted in ensuring our seas are safe and are funded entirely through charitable contributions and the expertise and commitment of volunteers. I applaud the hard work of so many unsung heroes who regularly make a vital contribution to our town, and have once again ‘done their bit’ to make the event a great success.


The event wasn’t perfect. I know from painful experience, even as someone who can walk for England, that wandering from one end of the event to the other was hard work and a long distance and played havoc with blisters on your feet. More importantly, I know that people were concerned about wheelchair access across the rocky ground. But I also know that Council staff were aware of this and were on hand to help people as much as possible. I hope it didn’t detract from people’s enjoyment, and it is a lesson that will be learned for future events.

But I want to finish on a high, just like the spectacular Tall Ships event did. For a small town to host this world class event was a tall order, if you forgive the pun. But it was done, and done in such a spectacular and successful style. I am incredibly proud of Hartlepool and all it stands for, and most people in the town are too. This week, I think the world now sees Hartlepool as we in the town all see it. For that, you should all be proud of what you put into the event.