Yorkshire Water has been announced as a major sponsor and the first principal corporate supporter of Hull's year as the UK City of Culture 2017.
City of Culture chief executive Martin Green commented:
"We are absolutely delighted to welcome Yorkshire Water on board as our first principal corporate supporter.”
"As well as being part of a world-class festival that will engage and inspire millions of people locally, nationally and internationally, they will also help to build a new future for Hull, where the power of culture is being harnessed to regenerate communities and transform the city."
Commenting on the partnership, Yorkshire Water said investing in Hull supports its long term business plan and becoming a partner of UK City Culture would help it reach new audiences.
Being a Principal Partner represents the highest tiering of investment, meaning that the company is contributing amongst the largest amounts of investment into supporting the continued growth within the region. Over the past decade, the water company has invested more than £50 million on upgrading Hull’s extensive network of pipes, treatment works and pumping stations.
Yorkshire Water's chief executive Richard Flint said:
"We are delighted to pledge our support for Hull 2017, which we are confident will put Hull and its surrounding towns and villages well and truly on the world stage.
"It's a great way to reinforce the fact that we are an integral part of Hull, providing major social economic and environmental benefits to the city. As a company we are working on ambitious long-term plans for Hull which we hope local communities will get behind.”
Yorkshire Water has now pledged to make Hull a model for environmental sustainability.
The utility said that sponsoring the City of Culture would not impact on service levels or on customers’ water bills, commenting:
“If anything, we’re hoping that by securing our commitment to the region, you will see an improvement in the way we provide our services; and that goes far beyond just the water in your pipes – we are looking at changing the way the city fundamentally addresses climate change and by making the city more resilient to flooding, will make Hull an even better place to live and work.”