|
Decision Session – Executive Leader
(incorporating Policy, Strategy and Partnerships)
|
9 March 2022
|
|
Report of the
Assistant Director of Policy and Strategy
Portfolio of
the Leader of the Council
|
Great British Railways Headquarters
Summary
1.
The Department for
Transport has announced their intention to run a competition to
select the appropriate location for the headquarters of Great
British Railways (GBR).
2.
The process
involves submission of a formal expression of interest, with the
short list announced in May, after which the public will be invited
to vote with the “winner” announced in the
summer.
3.
We believe York is
already the natural home for GBR given our location at the heart of
the railway network; our heritage as rail pioneers; our existing
rail sector innovation eco-system; being home to the National
Railway Museum; gateway to level up the north; and a centre point
for decarbonised national transport
infrastructure.
Recommendations
4.
The Leader is
invited to note the considerable benefits of York being home to
Great British Railways HQ and:
a.
To approve the submission of a
formal expression of interest signalling our intent.
b.
To agree the expression of interest
will be a joint submission from York, North Yorkshire and Y&NY
LEP and will follow extensive consultation with city partners, lead
members and rail leaders.
c.
To delegate the authority to
finalise and submit the expression of interest to the Corporate
Director of Place following consultation with the Leader of the
Council, in accordance with the recommendations above and within
the competition deadline of 16 March 2022.
Reason: The competition deadline is
16 March 2022, with several cities and towns indicating
interest. To avoid revealing our evidence too early, it is
proposed that the expression of interest is not publically shared
before the competition deadline. As part of the consultation
process it will first be shared with city partners and rail leaders
to ensure an accurate reflection of York’s strengths.
The joint expression of interest
demonstrates the importance GBR and the rail sector has for the
whole of the region, and the collaboration of the North Yorkshire
Local Authorities who support York becoming the home of
GBR.
Background
5.
The
[i]Great British Railways –
Williams-Shapps plan for rail was published in May 2021.
It sets out a 30 year vision for the railway sector and described
how an efficient, modern, improved experience for both freight
customers and passengers and zero carbon trains would be achieved
by bringing the network under single national leadership through a
new public body, Great British Railways.
6.
This new public
body, Great British Railways (GBR), will have a new brand and
identity. It will be comprised of a national headquarters
with five regional divisions organised in line with the regions
established in Network
Rail’s Putting Passengers First programme.
7.
The William-Shapps plan
described the evolution of the rail sector with flexible career
opportunities to attract and support the best to flourish and
herald a new golden era for the railways.
8.
York confirmed it intended to be
considered as the new home of GBR in June 2021 when it became clear
GBR was looking for the most appropriate location. A letter
was sent to the Secretary of State for Transport and the rail
minister who welcomed the “passionate advocacy” York
and North Yorkshire could play.
9.
In October 2021,
GBR announced it would run a competition and city partners joined
the campaign to attract GBR HQ to York.
10.
In November 2021, a debate took
place in the House of Commons outlining the considerable benefits
York would bring to GBR and vice versa, with support from York and
North Yorkshire MPs.
11.
In December 2021, a roundtable
discussion with city partners developed the case for York,
demonstrating how York already has the skills, sector expertise,
space and connectivity to deliver a more efficient,
customer-focused rail sector.
12.
In January 2022, the council worked
with partners and rail sector leaders to develop the response to
the call for evidence for the [ii]Whole
Industry Sector Plan. The response set out much of the evidence
that would be repurposed once the competition criteria was
announced.
13.
In tandem, work on York Central is
gathering momentum with infrastructure construction now
underway. This 46 Ha brownfield site offers a unique
opportunity for GBR, to be co-located or adjacent to a potential
Civil Service Hub and a new Active Travel England HQ in purpose
built facilities, on land owned by Network Rail offering
exceptional value for money.
The competition for a new
HQ
14.
In February 2022, the competition
[iii]criteria was announced.
Locations across the country with strong historical links to the
railway were encouraged to make the case for why they should be the
new home set against six criteria:
a.
Alignment to Levelling Up
objectives
b.
Connected and easy to get
to
c.
Opportunities for Great British
Railways
d.
Railway heritage and links to the
network
e.
Value for money
f.Public support
15.
The competition is a four stage
process, with a public vote taking place in May 2022:
1 – Expression of Interest deadline: 16 March
2022
2 – Shortlist announced May 2022
3 – Ministerial visits to shortlisted
places and a public vote: May 2022
4 – Headquarters’ location
announced Summer 2022
16.
Several towns and cities have
indicated they will be submitting an expression of interest.
The list of known contenders is below:
17.
The Expression of Interest must be
submitted by 16 March 2022.
The Expression of Interest
18.
The Expression of Interest is
expected to be a professional, considered and compelling response
that meets the criteria, however the transition team aren’t
expecting applicants to spend significant time on document design
or detailed analysis within the application.
19.
Evidence is being compiled with
business and city leaders and the rail sector that will provide the
basis of York’s expression of interest.
20.
Development of the expression of
interest involves significant consultation with members, city
leaders and rail sector partners, before being submitted to
government on 16 March 2022.
21.
It is proposed York, North Yorkshire
and Y&NY LEP demonstrate the value of this opportunity for the
whole region by submitting the expression of interest
jointly.
Our case
22.
York has a strong case to attract
GBR HQ (see annex B):
·
Our unique 180 year rail
heritage includes the National Railway Museum and zero point on
York station, which has led to over a third of the UK connected to
York via a direct train route.
·
York is home to a rail
cluster representing around 10% of the total rail industry, with
14% within an hour’s train journey – representing
18,000 people. There are an additional 100,000 or so in the
supply chain.
·
Our rail workforce is
young, skilled and diverse. Network Rail employs more than 1,000
people in York and has the country’s biggest rail control
centre in the city and one of 12 digitised central signalling
centres. The breadth of York’s skills base, across
rolling stock, engineering, planning and the digital future, means
GBR will be more effective from the start.
·
The announcement that
Active Travel England is due to be located in York presents an
opportunity to create a national decarbonised transport
infrastructure campus, putting York at the heart of sustainable
travel.
Building public support
23.
Activities to build public support
have already begun. During February 2022, and March 2022, the
focus is predominately on building business, rail sector and public
bodies advocacy with the competition encouraging organisations to
show their support.
a.
Meetings have been held with rail
sector leaders, city leaders, MPs, business leaders, West and North
Yorkshire Chamber Transport and Executive groups and city partners
to share the case for York.
b.
A letter has been sent to
Yorkshire’s MPs and Mayors sharing the case for York and
inviting them to join the campaign
c.
MPs, local politicians, the rail
sector and businesses are visibly confirming their support through
the media or on social media using
#DestinationGBR, #YorkGBRHQ, #Yes2York
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/19935139.train-giants-back-yorks-bid-home-new-british-railway-hq/?ref=eb
d.
An article in Our City, the
resident newsletter, will start to build excitement about the
competition.
e.
£50k has been approved by
Budget Council to help build public support and attract GBR HQ to
York.
24.
Throughout April 2022, and in May
2022, a more public campaign will build momentum, encouraging as
many people as possible to choose to vote for York. Example
activities include:
a.
The campaign to encourage votes will
not be contained to York or North Yorkshire and instead stretch
across Yorkshire and across the country, appealing to anyone with
either an affinity for rail, for York or both.
b.
City partners, businesses and the
media will be encouraged to do whatever they think reasonable to
raise awareness and interest in York’s case, based around a
common set of messages. The council will not own the campaign
and instead encourage it to spread as far as possible.
c.
Partners and stakeholders who have
already pledged their support will be invited to write letters of
support to the GBR Transition team, sharing their letter in the
media or on social media and encouraging their networks to vote for
York.
Consultation
25.
A city leaders meeting was held in
December 2021, to shape the case for York. The case then
evolved through discussion with rail sector leaders, MPs, and
partners in neighbouring (and supportive) authorities.
26.
City leaders and the rail sector
have provided additional evidence and have been invited to review
the Expression of Interest.
27.
The Expression of Interest will be
shared with Legal and Commercial Property colleagues to ensure
implications are understood before being formally
submitted.
Options
28.
There are two options listed
below:
Option One: York should be the
natural home for GBR HQ. This is the preferred option.
Option Two: York should not
prepare an expression of interest for GBR HQ
Analysis
29.
The benefits and
disadvantages of each option are below:
|
|
Benefits
|
Disadvantages
|
|
York should be the natural home for GBR
HQ
|
It helps cement York’s position as the
natural home of a decarbonised national transport
infrastructure.
It re-ignites York’s long association as
the heart of the railway industry, strengthening civic
pride.
It builds future opportunities for a range of
job roles that would balance out the reliance on
service/hospitality sectors.
It would strengthen the rail industry eco-system
that would form around a new anchor institution in the heart of the
city centre, acting as an attractor for related businesses and
industries.
It responds to the council plan and economic
strategy priority of encouraging more higher value jobs in the
city.
|
The HQ is purely corporate and strategic roles,
the benefits will be realised through the surrounding eco-system
that supports a new anchor institution in the city.
|
|
York should not prepare an expression of
interest for GBR HQ
|
None
|
If we do not submit an expression of interest,
we will not be considered as a location for the HQ, losing out on
the many benefits listed above.
|
Council
Plan
30.
The Expression of Interest to
encourage GBR HQ to locate to York responds to the Council Plan
priority Well paid jobs and an inclusive economy by creating
new jobs, and encouraging higher paid roles in the city
centre.
31.
Implications
·
Financial
£50k has been
committed by City of York Council with additional funding from
partners to encourage public support. This funding has been
confirmed at Budget Council.
·
Human Resources
(HR) No
implications
·
Equalities
The EIA is attached as Annex B
·
Legal Understanding commercial
property options and implications will be part of the consultation
process to develop the Expression of Interest.
·
Crime and Disorder
No implications
·
Information Technology
(IT) No
Implications
·
Property Commercial property colleagues will be consulted
as the Expression of Interest develops. Particularly in
reference to the opportunity for a purpose built rail industry
campus on Network Rail owned land on York Central.
32.
Risk Management
Reputation: Failing to submit a robust and compelling bid
would undermine public confidence and significantly damage
stakeholder support. The consultation process has been
designed to allow time to collate wide ranging evidence and views
from city partners and the rail industry.
Competitive disadvantage: By providing too much information too
soon, we risk other applicants undermining York’s
position. To avoid this risk, we will publish the high level
evidence base as late as possible, and only publish the full bid
once the deadline has passed.
Public support: The public vote is non-binding, however
there is a risk that York is over-looked. This could be a
variety of reasons ranging from a public protest vote to not being
sure of the wider benefits. A campaign will proactively share
the rationale for York as the home of GBR, however any public vote
introduces risk.
Contact
Details
|
Author:
|
Chief Officer Responsible for the
report:
|
|
|
Claire
Foale
Assistant
Director
Policy and
Strategy
Tel: 01904
552057
claire.foale@york.gov.uk
|
Janie Berry,
Director of Governance
|
|
|
Report Approved
|
√
|
Date
|
28 February
2022
|
|
|
|
|
|
Specialist
Implications Officer(s)
Debbie
Mitchell, Director of Finance
Frances
Harrison, Head of Legal Services
Nick Collins, Head of Commercial Property
Andy Kerr, Head
of Regeneration and the Economy
Simon Brereton,
Head of Economic Growth
Will Boardman,
Head of Policy and Partnerships
Graham North,
Rail Policy Officer
Alison Edeson,
Skills Manager
Alex Dochery /
Charles Storr, Economic Growth Team
Andrew Leeming
/ Sarah Thomas, Y&NY LEP
|
|
|
Wards Affected:
|
All
|
√
|
|
|
|
|
For further information please contact the
author of the report
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Background Papers:
·
Great British Railways: Williams-Shapps plan for rail - GOV.UK
(www.gov.uk)
·
Whole
Industry Strategic Plan document | Great British Railways
Transition Team (gbrtt.co.uk)
·
National Headquarters Competition for
Great British Railways | Great British Railways Transition Team
(gbrtt.co.uk)
·
Call for transport leaders to help 'super-charge' skills and build
future workforce - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
·
Putting
passengers first - Network Rail
Annexes
Annex A – Equality
Impact Assessment
Annex B – York’s
case
