Agenda item

This report provides an update on the York’s approach to Inward Investment.

Members considered a report that provided an update on York’s approach to Inward Investment. The Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning, Interim Director of Place and Head of Economic Growth were in attendance to update Members on inward investment.

The Head of Economic Growth detailed the different types of inward investment and noted the development of the prospectus for inward investment in the city. He explained how inward investment was brought into York and the importance of the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in supporting work on inward investment. He noted the brief to the master developers for York Central. In response to a question from a Member he explained that immersive storytelling was the use of modern media and technology to produce compelling stories.

[The meeting adjourned from 17:27 to 17:32 to allow external participants to be brought into the meeting]

The Chair welcomed the Managing Director of Make it York (MiY), President of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce (CoC) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to the meeting. They were in attendance to participate in discussions with the Committee on inward investment. They each, in turn explained the work of their organisations and its relationship with the council.

Members asked about the resources available for inward investment. The MiY Managing Director explained that there was a limited resource for inward investment and that its profile needed to be raised. He added that beyond MiY, inward investment was a regional function of the LEP. The COO of the York and North Yorkshire LEP noted that there was value in sharing resource for inward investment back office functions, which would encourage collaborative working and understanding how tasks could be broken down. The President of the York and North Yorkshire CoC noted that the pandemic had demonstrated the effectiveness of working together and encouraged participation in the consultation process. The Interim Director of Place added that the pandemic response had shown how well public private partnerships could work.

Members asked how many inward investment leads there had been and were advised that in 6 months there had been 13 enquiries from a mix of indigenous and foreign investors. They were advised of a further lead, which if realised would create 200 jobs in the city. The COO of the York and North Yorkshire LEP noted that for foreign direct investment, larger sites were needed which were not available in York. The MiY Managing Director highlighted the importance of York Central and the Head of Economic Growth noted that there was a number of companies moving into York.

When asked about the process for inward investment, the MiY Managing Director explained that it was about relationship building which was a long term process. The Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning noted that he had been directly approached with enquiries and added that it was about maximising awareness. This was supported by the Head of Economic Growth who added that it was about converting interest into real investment. The COO of the York and North Yorkshire LEP noted the need to get the process right and the President of the York and North Yorkshire CoC added that Hiscox was a good example of partners working together.

In response to a question from the Chair concerning whether York needed something specific for foreign direct investment, the COO of the York and North Yorkshire LEP explained that there aren’t large enough site in the City of York boundary for this. He added that York had good facilities for innovation and research and development.

A number of Members expressed concern regarding resources for inward investment and the change in geography for the LEP. The COO of the York and North Yorkshire LEP explained that the geography of the LEP was being examined at the moment and noted the potential impact of devolution on this.  The Interim Director of Place noted that the council was still in receipt of funds from West Yorkshire in relation to infrastructure improvements.

Resolved: That delegation be given to the Chair and Vice Chair to devise a recommendation to the Customer and Corporate Services Scrutiny Management Committee to the effect that there needed to be a joined up process for inward investment with a person to take the lead, including the guilds and twin cities.

Reason:     In order to support the work on inward investment.

The Managing Director of Make it York (MiY), President of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce (CoC) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) were thanked for their attendance and left the meeting.