Terry Hodgkinson, who chairs the region’s development agency, travelled to the coast to join Scarborough Council’s chief executive Jim Dillon for the borough’s first Economic Information Session.

The pair spoke to both the business community and public sector representatives at the event which was held at Woodend Creative Workspace in Scarborough and attracted around 50 people.

The key items up for discussion were the regional and local economic situation and the long-term outlook.

Mr Dillon started with an introduction of how Scarborough has been faring in the recession.

He said: “In Scarborough we have seen 10 years of economic growth. There has been significant growth not only in tourism but also manufacturing.

“There has been £100 million of public sector investment, and £350 million of investment from other areas has been stimulated as a result.

“Yes there is a recession, but we have had to deal with a mini recession every October for years so we are used to that.

“The challenges we face are bringing us new opportunities and we now must take things forward.”

According to Mr Hodgkinson Scarborough has fared comparatively well in the recent economic downturn. After congratulating the town on winning the Enterprising Europe Award, he went on to explain what he believes the outlook is for the region.

He said: “I cannot come here without congratulating you as a town on being the most enterprising capital in Europe.

“That accolade is absolutely fantastic, not only for Scarborough, and not only for Yorkshire, but for your country. It makes me feel proud to be here.

“I think in this borough you have missed a lot of the hard core of the recession. I know many businesses are going through difficult times but you seem to be faring well compared to what I have seen in South and West Yorkshire.

“Our economist at Yorkshire Forward tells me that confidence is slowly returning, and we are seeing signs that the pace of the recession is slowing. The graphs are levelling out, and business activity is slowly increasing.

“We think the recession will reach a plateau by quarter four of this year, or the first quarter of next year. We will then start to see growth again.”

Mr Hodgkinson said the agency does not expect unemployment to go above 10% as it has seen an increase in labour demand figures.

Also, trade is showing signs of returning to more competitive levels after exports increased by six per cent following the decline in the pound.

Before the floor was opened for a question and answer session Mr Dillon ended the talk by explaining the council’s next plans are to restore the Scarborough Spa, subject to an ongoing bid for £10m in funding, which he believes is the key to promoting business tourism in the town.