Essex House revamp to create ‘up to 200’ new jobs
UP to 200 jobs will be created when a landmark building in Hull city centre is renovated, according to the council.
Clearanswer already runs a “state-ofthe-art” call centre in Essex House, a former job centre on the corner of Manor Street and Alfred Gelder Street. Now, the company has been awarded a grant of more than £280,000 to redevelop the first floor of the 1970s building.
Under the plans, a new 120-seat call centre will be created and 300sqm of vacant floor space will be brought back into use. The money is being made available from the Levelling Up Fund, via Hull City Council.
Clearanswer, which was founded in 1998, will move its reception and HR areas downstairs to the ground floor. It also plans to upgrade its IT system. According to the council, the grant of £283,403 is equal to half the refurbishment costs and will create up to 200 full-time equivalent jobs in the city centre.
Cllr Paul Drake-davis, the portfolio holder for regeneration at the council, said: “I am delighted that the council is able to support this project through Levelling Up Funding. The applicant proposes to create hundreds of new city centre jobs, something which is one of the council’s priorities and which will help to boost Hull’s wider economy.”
The upper floors of Essex House, which was built in 1974, have already been transformed into designer apartments with all mod-cons, including a gym, cinema, gaming room, and rooftop garden. One-bedroom apartments are currently listed to rent on Rightmove, with prices from £875 a month.
Clearanswer operates call centres in Hull and Leeds for business clients, with a focus on sales, customer services and marketing. According to its website, a call centre agent in Hull has a starting salary of £22,806.77 per year plus “generous” commission.