Agenda item

Members will be given a bi-annual update on the progress of Make it York by Steve Brown, Managing Director of Make it York.

Members were given a bi-annual update on the progress of Make it York by the Managing Director of Make it York (MiY). He highlighted a number of points:

·        The new Service Level Agreement (SLA) was under discussion and the budget had been considered by the Stakeholder Committee.

·        The role of MiY in supporting a number of activities (such as the Guildhall, York Central and Castle Gateway) would develop over the next year.

·        There were opportunities for the city for economic and tourism development, through upcoming festivals such as the Bloom! flower festival, Great Yorkshire Fringe, York Mystery Plays, York Balloon Fiesta and York Mediale.

Following the update and in response to Members’ comments and questions, the Managing Director of (MiY) commented that:

·        As a result of the piece of work with the top 100 businesses in York, MiY had been able to form new relationships, and the data on turnover had showed that turnover for those top 100 businesses had grown by 6%.

·        Not having enough resources to meet the MiY mission was of concern to the Managing Director.  He confirmed that MiY had grown revenue by £1million with a 45% reduction in contribution from City of York Council (CYC). MiY tried to be resourceful and were investing in inward investment and business support.

·        Following an explanation of the decision making process around the new SLA and  its delivery, the Managing Director explained that for the most part, MiY had delivered the original SLA.

·        In the context of One Planet York and encouraging companies to sign up to sustainability and cycling, there were many businesses interested in sustainability and MiY assertively promoted that York had good Park and Ride facilities.

·        In order to address the balance of secondary shopping areas that had seen a decrease in footfall and standards, MiY had been trying to make sure that shoppers to York were dispersed around the city centre through the promotion of trails, for example the Easter egg trail and ghost trail at Halloween. It was suggested that a future focus for the committee could be secondary shopping areas outside of the city centre.

·        The CYC Chief Executive was driving York as a cultural centre within the Leeds City Region. It was noted that LCR was at the centre of the Channel 4 bid.

·        MiY promoted business rate relief, which was CYC led.

·        The Managing Director was asked if there was a skills shortage which resulted in businesses not being attracted to York. He explained that there was a shortage in IT skills which may be as a result of the Leeds area being attractive to potential employees. In York there was a shortage of skills in the hospitality sector, in particular a shortage of chefs. He confirmed that the biggest issue limiting companies investing in York was the lack of available space in the short term. However, long term, there was the York Central site and there had been interest in this.

Members discussed the number of empty shop units on Coney Street and asked the Managing Director what initiatives were being taken to attract businesses to those empty units. He explained that the number of empty shops on high streets was a national problem and that York had some of the highest occupancy rates nationally.  He advised that MiY was trying to promote York as a great place for retailers but rents on Coney Street were high, and some of those properties were unsuitable for the needs of some types of businesses.  The Managing Director confirmed that the data showed that York had a high rate of return and it was the suitability of stock that was more of a concern.

The Chair thanked the MiY Managing Director for his update.

Resolved: That Members note the Make it York bi-annual update.

Reason:     In order to be kept up to date on the work of Make it York.