Priority c) Economy: A fair, thriving, green economy for all
We are now three years into our 10-year Economic Strategy for York, and work is continuing at pace.
Developing the city
Acomb
In March we completed improvements to Acomb Front Street, which included newly designed benches featuring work by local artists, a community mural, new planters, improved Blue Badge parking, wide and level pedestrian crossings, wayfinding signs and upgraded public toilets.
York Station Gateway
Visible improvements are already in place at York Station, including new bus stops, wider footpaths and better views of the historic walls, greeting people as they arrive in the city. These modernisations are vital to support growth, unlock the full potential of York Central, and provide a gateway to the city and the region to fully leverage economic growth and business ecosystems.
York Central
York Central has outline consent to deliver 2,500 new homes (at least 20% of which will be affordable) and will offer up to one million sq ft of office, retail and hospitality space, along with improvements to the York Railway Station and an enhanced National Railway Museum. It will also include a new government funded hub, housing up to 2,600 civil servants.
The city celebrated the grand opening of the new York Central travel routes, a highlight of which is Hudson Boulevard, a 480-metre long landscaped public realm space featuring wide cycling and walking paths, comfortable benches, a stunning rain garden and better bus connectivity.
194 local residents were welcomed to the latest in a series of community engagement events to find out more about the plans for York Central, one of the largest regeneration projects in the UK.
York Castle Gateway
Progress at Castle Gateway continues to gather momentum with an ongoing commitment to bring more family friendly, accessible green space into the city centre.
In July 2025, we submitted amendments to the existing planning application for new public spaces and Blue Badge parking at the current Castle car park and the Eye of York. The design was informed by extensive engagement with residents and stakeholders about what they want to see in the area. Castle Gateway will include a dedicated Blue Badge car park and you can view a flythrough of the design on our YouTube account. The next steps for entering delivery phases will be agreed later this year.
Supporting our economy
Over the past year, York has strengthened its position as a national leader in the rail sector through a coordinated programme of support and engagement. The York Rail Innovation Community (YoRIC) was successfully re-established, providing a platform for collaboration and innovation, while a dedicated rail sector focus group was convened to shape the vision for the York Central Innovation Hub.
Partnership working with Network Rail and the Eastern Region Partnership has facilitated the presence of major national rail companies in York, further embedding the city’s role in the industry.
Tailored support has been provided to local rail businesses, including participation in the Innovate UK scalability programme, helping them grow and thrive in a competitive market.
Our Economic Growth Team has been instrumental in supporting additional office space providers investing in the city, such as Patch York, from the planning stage to the day-to-day operations once they are open.
Case Study: York Top for Business Growth
York has been ranked 1st place out of 50 UK cities in PwC’s 2025 Good Growth for Cities Index, which measures a range of social and economic indicators such as skills, housing, jobs and work life balance. We are dedicated to building on our existing strengths and helping drive economic growth, making York a great place to live, work, visit and do business.
In September 2025 the Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index revealed that York was top for growth in terms of a place that feels invested in, future-focused and full of opportunities. The places that succeed were those that make smart choices to deliver the outcomes that matter most. Each place had to show a tailored approach, shaping its own path, determined by local strengths and challenges.
According to PwC, prioritising the foundations of thriving communities and businesses will be key for place-based growth, as will a focus on local strengths with tangible economic potential and outcomes people can see and feel. In 2024 to 2025 the percentage of vacant shops in the city centre was only 6.5%, compared to the national benchmark of 13.8% and the percentage of working age population in employment (16 to 64 year olds) was 77.8% in Q3 2024 to 2025, compared to the national benchmark of 75.5%.
Working at a regional level
We work closely with the York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to unlock opportunities for businesses and residents. This includes contributing to the development of the Local Growth Plan and working to shape programmes that help residents grow their own economic opportunities.
Over the past year, we have had over £34 million funding committed by the Combined Authority to deliver a range of programmes covering affordable housing, transport, economy, net zero and culture.
The Combined Authority awarded us £604,000 UKSPF and £1,038,250 Trailblazers funding to help improve economic opportunities across the city. UKSPF focuses on business growth and support, whilst Trailblazers focuses on supporting people into work or to remain in work.
We continue to share best practice, co-designing business support programmes and events with the Growth Hub. We have held numerous joint business support events within the city – for example at the University of York St John Business Festival in November 2024 and the Growth Hub Roadshow in March 2025.
Good business
We were delighted to gain re-accreditation of the Good Business Charter earlier this year. The Good Business Charter recognises organisations that share values around things like paying the real Living Wage, fairer hours and contracts, environmental responsibility and paying fair tax. The Combined Authority have funded us to promote the charter across York and North Yorkshire.
York is the first Good Business Charter City, which means that the GBC is promoted across all sectors in the city as something to aspire to, and sign up to. You can watch some short video case studies created by us.
We currently have around 7,500 businesses based in York and, when businesses are considering relocating to York, they will often contact us for support and advice around things such as carbon reduction, skills, digital transformation, manufacturing and start up support. These businesses bring valuable employment into the city as well as other economic benefits. Our team provides one-to-one support and are currently refreshing online presence and materials, which aim to attract interest in York as well as signposting useful avenues of support. We also continue to facilitate a Flexible Workspace Group to support York’s flexible workspace offer to existing and incoming businesses and we support this with media and PR to increase visibility.
What we plan to do over the next three months
- The Castle Gateway project will progress through planning and take first steps to delivery. At York Central, Phase 1 development planning application will be submitted. The stopping-up of Leeman Road will progress and, linked to this, commencement of pre-delivery on the National Railway Museum’s Central Hall project.
- In partnership with the Combined Authority and city partners, we have been raising York’s profile within the UNESCO Creative Cities network and we will build on this going forward.
- York’s Prospectus, setting out our ambitions to secure future investment in the city, will be scrutinised before adoption later this year.
- The Rail 200 event will take place in September in York, drawing together industry and stakeholders.
Making a positive difference
There were 767 business start-ups (year to February 2024).
The percentage of vacant shops in the city centre was only 6.2% in Q2 2025 to 2026, compared to the national benchmark of 13.7%.
The percentage of working age population in employment (16 to 64 year olds) was 77.9% in 2024 to 2025, compared to the national benchmark of 75.4%.
The percentage of total employees working for an accredited Living Wage Employer was 16.4% in 2023 to 2024, compared to 16% in 2022 to 2023.
GVA per head was £41,162 in 2023 to 2024, compared to £37,748 in 2022 to 2023.