York needs to back its science and technology cluster to grow in the upturn
Date: 10/03/2009York must play to its strengths in science and technology and focus efforts on developing the York Northwest site, so it is best placed to recover from recession according to a new report by the Centre for Cities.
York has reinvented itself in recent years, recovering from decline in traditional manufacturing in railways and confectionary and capitalising on the growth of tourism, financial services and the city's science cluster, based around its university. Between 1996 and 2006, the city added nearly 14,000 jobs to its economy.
But York has already suffered high profile job losses in financial services and construction. An extra 1,300 residents signed on to Job Seeker's Allowance last year. With the future of the financial services industry uncertain, the report finds that York will need to build on its assets and existing sources of growth to maintain its success during the recovery.
The report recommends that:
- York - its Council, the University of York, Science City York and Yorkshire Forward - should use the recent expansion of the University of York to attract further investment into York and foster new and attract existing businesses.
- York needs to make sure that progress on the York Northwest site in the city centre stays on track. This means establishing a clear consensus on the need for sustainable economic growth and development in the city, prioritising staff resources and capacity towards the site and investigating new infrastructure funding models to finance the project.
Kieran Larkin, the report author from Centre for Cities, said:
"York has seen strong economic growth over the past decade but its financial services sector is vulnerable. To survive recession and grow during the recovery, the city needs to play to its strengths - its highly skilled workforce, quality of life and well respected university.
"The city needs to prioritise the areas where it can make a real difference to the economy. This means making sure key development projects like the York Northwest site happen and supporting its strong science and technology sector. "
Bill McCarthy, Chief Executive of City of York Council, said:
"We welcome the report, which is an important piece of work for the city. We are pleased that it endorses the council's priorities including Science City York, the development of York North West and the creation of an effective economic partnership."
Peter Kay, Chair, York Economic Development Partnership, said:
"It is very important for the York Economic Partnership in designing economic strategy to receive a report which looks at York based not only on direct research but also in the context of other cities in the UK. We all have a view of where we think we are but we do not have the wider and, most importantly, objective view.
"The report from Centre for Cities helps us all to focus on our key challenges and our key strengths. It moves forward the debate which started with the Future York Report and builds on the experience since then. The publication of this report is at a crucial time not only in the current economic cycle but also in the formulation of the future economic strategy for York. The York Economic Partnership will undoubtedly be studying its findings very closely and will no doubt be counselled by its recommendations."
For more information, please contact:
Rosamund
Taylor,
Acting External Affairs Manager
020 7803 4316 / 07876 175 426
r.taylor@centreforcities.org
Notes to editors:
York: Prioritising Prosperity is available at www.centreforcities.org/york
York is a Partner City in the Centre for Cities research programme ‘Unlocking City Potential and Sustaining City Growth. The programme works closely with a small group of cities (Belfast, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Hull, Sunderland) to inform economic development strategies and improve economic performance
Last autumn, the Centre for Cities published Innovation, Science and the City, by Chris Webber. This paper analyses the impact of England's Science Cities initiative including the founding Science City in York. The paper is available to download at www.centreforcities.org/innovation
On 26 January, the Centre for Cities launched Cities Outlook 2009. This report ranks the economic performance of 64 of the UK's largest cities and towns. A York fact sheet is available upon request.
