The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has launched a new forum which he says will unlock investment and drive job growth in the region.
The first York and North Yorkshire Development Forum, held at York Biotech Campus last week, brought together developers behind the region’s key and strategic employment sites.
Under the Invest in York and North Yorkshire partnership, the forum also included key partners at North Yorkshire Council and the City of York Council.
This first meeting was an open discussion about challenges, the vision of the councils and the opportunities ahead including the incoming Local Growth Plan which will be launched in Spring 2025.
James Farrar, the CEO of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, chaired the meeting and Mayor David Skaith opened discussions with the developers by talking about his growth ambitions for the region.
With the Invest in York and North Yorkshire partnership, Mayor David Skaith has singled out rail, manufacturing, creative and digital, healthy ageing and industrial biotech and agritech as sectors which are already well-established or emerging as strong with opportunities for growth.
Mark Rudolph, Director of Teakwood Developments Ltd, said:
The meeting was framed around getting all sides of the development industry around the same table and understanding where each side were experiencing challenges to be able to achieve “ oven ready “ sites that were capable of delivering buildings for end occupiers to enable these occupiers businesses to grow and jobs to be created.
It was a very constructive forum allowing all to understand what needed to be achieved.
Teakwood Developments and Beckwith Knowle Developments have sites in the Harrogate , Wetherby and Northallerton areas that we are keen to bring forward – particularly in Harrogate we have identified a strong demand from local businesses that are very keen to expand their businesses – for that to happen there needs to be sites that are capable of immediate development.
We hope and believe constructive forums such as Monday’s will facilitate development to be brought as quickly as possible.
Mayor David Skaith told the Development Forum:
York and North Yorkshire is a fantastic place to live and do business – we are well connected, we boast world-leading universities and research centres, and that is all underpinned by the people who live here and skills they provide.
These strong foundations are why so many businesses have thrived here and made names for themselves across the world.
To go for growth, we need to have the developers which facilitate the next generation of businesses at the heart of our approach, so we can keep creating opportunities and more high-quality jobs.
Public and private sector relationships are essential for our region to reach its full potential, so that is why it is important to build connections, launch the Development Forum and help drive long-term growth.
After the meeting Sarah Friskney, property development director at Glentrool, said:
I am delighted to be here, and I think it has been a huge success. The format of the forum and who attended was absolutely first class, which led to a healthy debate.
As developers we don’t often get in the same room but it’s clear we are all in the same boat. It is all about open communication and getting everyone back around the table, so we can all get aligned and go for growth.
Chris Davidson, regional director at Harworth Group, also said:
Gascoigne Interchange got planning earlier this year, so we need to get on and develop the site as fast as we can.
The key thing for us now is getting those quick decisions through planning. So, this morning for me was perfect. It is the start of our journey to get all our stakeholders around a table so we can make these investments and drive growth.
The York and North Yorkshire Development Forum will be held once every six months at key locations across the region, to keep the lines of communication open and unlock opportunities for growth across the region.
