In a recent piece for the Hull Daily Mail, Prime Minister Theresa May talks about why she’s so impressed by Hull’s start to the UK City of Culture year and even gives a shout out to the #MakeHull initiative on Spacehive.

The Prime Minister highlighted the huge opportunity for Hull as the City of Culture. “This special accolade can act as a catalyst by attracting visitors, bringing communities together and enabling Hull to strike important new partnerships, both within the UK and internationally.”

With the local economy projected to get an added £60m in the next 12 months through the City of Culture – this is the perfect time to invest in Hull’s future. The government is contributing £15m including investments in the Hull New Theatre, local projects and the Ferens Gallery refurbishment and Turner Prize staging.

And as Theresa May was keen to emphasise, much of the investment is also coming from the people of Hull themselves. “I know you are doing your bit too – the city is pioneering a new form of grassroots regeneration using Spacehive, a start-up crowdfunding platform that empowers communities to shape their local area.”

She goes on to highlight the success of the #MakeHull campaign where eleven businessmen, known as the Hull pioneers came together, to invest money in community-led projects. “Local business leaders recently put in £50,000 of their own money last year to co-fund ideas aimed at making the city more vibrant. 30 projects have been proposed so far and that pot of money has now grown to £350,000 as others have stepped in to offer their support.”

The Prime Minister adds “This fantastic idea shows what can be achieved when people work together.”

Tim Rix, one of the Hull pioneers, follows on from her message to call for more of Hull’s citizens to get involved. He says “Hull is a great, traditional city steeped in history. If we change our outlook about what the future could look like, we can start to see how we will get there. But we can’t do it alone. Join in, get involved and be part of this change.”

If you have a great idea to help transform Hull, upload your idea at www.spacehive. com/makehull, start crowdfunding and you could receive pledges from #MakeHull, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Growing a Greener Britain of up to £15,000 to help you achieve your goal.