Strategic Economic Plan 31st March 2014 York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership Contents a) Foreward i) Executive Summary 1 1. Introduction 3 2. Investment priorities and activities 48 3. Economic geography and evidence 91 4. Collaboration and partnership 97 5. Cross cutting issues 100 6. Resources and funding allocations 103 7. Delivery and governance 114 Annex A Growth Towns–Five Year Growth Plans 168 Annex B Priority Transport Schemes 178 Annex C Local Growth Plan for our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty 188 Annex D Public sector partners involved in strategy development 189 Annex E Membership of Boards 192 Annex F Cross Cutting Issues by Priority Foreword We are the largest LEP area by geography with global ambitions. Our unique combination of Our quality stunning natural landscapes, the world famous city of York and industry leading innovation of life is combine to deliver a vibrant business location with an enviable quality of life. unquestionable. We have four clear ambitions to deliver by 2021: Harrogate is the Barry Dodd CBE • Create 20,000 new jobs happiest place Chairman • Deliver £3 billion growth • Connect every student to business in England, York • Double house building has been voted Our quality of life is unquestionable. Harrogate is the happiest place in England, York has been voted the best place to live in Britain and Yorkshire the best place the best tourist destination in Europe. We have an excellent cultural offer and the world’s greatest cycle race is coming in 2014! to live in Britain Delivering our ambitions will ensure business success matches this quality and Yorkshire of life. the best tourist Jobs are created by growing businesses. We will deliver growth by supporting our many small and micro businesses to realise their potential, destination in whilst investing in our leading edge assets in the food manufacturing, agritech and bio-renewables sectors in our A1/A19 growth corridor will Europe. establish a worldwide reputation and create thousands of new jobs. Offshore opportunities and a new potash mine in Whitby have the potential to boost our economy by a billion pounds and tackle head-on the declining role of the seaside, creating good quality jobs in our most deprived communities on the Yorkshire Coast. We must also make sure our growing businesses can recruit good quality staff. We already have some great schools and colleges, we will take this further - by connecting every student with business, we will ensure our next generation of employees have the right skills and the right attitude that growing businesses need. We will target investment in infrastructure where it will have greatest impact, so that growing businesses have the space to expand, so that our transport network lets business move their goods and people quickly and reliably and we will invest in housing, so that skilled people can afford to live in the area. a Our housing plans are stretching; to double the rate of house building we will not only invest in key strategic sites and housing initiatives, we must We are tackle congestion, particularly around York. Enabling housing developments will also benefit business, who cite transport congestion as the biggest investing in key constraint on their growth. developments We are already delivering; we are investing in key developments such as the National AgriFood Innovation Campus where we will create 800 new such as the jobs adding £100m to the regional economy and Whitby Business Park to support supply chains for potash and offshore wind. National Both public and private sectors are committed to delivering these AgriFood ambitions – business networks, universities and banks have helped develop our business growth plans, Local Government are investing with us Innovation in infrastructure and our Colleges are committed to our skills plan. Campus where We are stronger together – York, North Yorkshire & East Riding offers the best quality of life in the country, delivering this plan will match quality of we will create life with quality business location. 800 new jobs Barry Dodd CBE adding £100m to the regional economy b Executive Summary i REASONS TO INVEST 1 QUALITY OF LIFE 1 Yorkshire Picked by LonelyPlanet Best tourist destination in Europe 3 NORTH YORK MOORS NATIONAL PARK Harrogate Rightmove survey Happiest place to live in the UK YORKSHIRE DALES NATIONAL PARK Bing survey York C Where most people would like to live A B HARROGATE Cultural offers YORK such as the Tour de France in 2014 D Outstanding beauty Two National Parks, Three Areas of National Beauty, The Yorkshire Wolds A The Howardian Hills C Forest of Bolan B Nidderdale Area of D The Yorkshire Outstanding Natural Beauty Wolds 1 2 OUR BUSINESSES 3 OUR ASSETS COMPARED KEY STATISTICS £1.7BN TO NATIONAL investment in biomass and carbon capture and storage AVERAGE at Drax Power Station World-class research facilities 250% Thanks to University of York, More businesses York St John, and the York Science park in Agriculture, Foresty and Fishing 90% 99% £100M of our of our boost for the economy will come businesses businesses from the National Agri-Food 14% have less are classed Innovation Campus More people than 10 as small or are self-employed employees micro 1000 turbines are in the Dogger Bank wind farm, a site the size of North Yorkshire 10% 35% N a BN ti More resilience is a of manufacturing £1 o n a trait of 80,000 of jobs are in food will be generated in annual exports l a v our businesses manufacturing from the proposed Potash mine e r a g e ii Executive Summary Our vision is to make York, North Yorkshire & East Riding the place in England to grow a small business, combining a quality business location with a great quality of life. To deliver this vision we have four clear ambitions: Achieving these ambitions 20,000 £3 Billion requires a single minded New jobs Growth focus, ensuring we invest Ambitions where it will deliver greatest impact and value for money. Every Double To support this, the Strategic Student House Economic Plan is built around Connected Building to Business five strategic priorities Our Priorities Profitable and ambitious small and “Ambitious businesses that are supported to innovate, micro businesses improve and grow” A global leader in food manufacturing, “Driving growth by building on our international reputation in agri-tech and biorenewables agri-tech & biorenewables” Inspired People “Growing businesses able to access ambitious people, with the right skills and the right attitude” Successful and distinctive places “Enhanced growth and opportunities in targeted locations” A well connected economy “Businesses with strong connections to their customers and markets” iii Our Priorities Our priorities are rooted in economic assessment and evidence, informed “Impact and by our distinct economic geography, and have been developed through a process of extensive stakeholder consultation and engagement. Business value for money input has been at the heart of this plan; however local government, statutory agencies, education and the voluntary and community sector will drive our have also been involved. delivery model” Whilst the LEP area is successful overall, we need to confront challenges and exploit opportunities, not least to reverse the gradual decline in our competitive advantage. Evidence shows us that: Our response We have a rich diversity of small & micro-businesses Focus on growing our existing businesses but few medium and large ones Growth and productivity are low and decreasing Focus on drivers of productivity including innovation, compared to national average enterprise & skills We have some world class innovative companies, but Support businesses to invest in R&D innovation levels are not high enough We have some globally recognised innovation in agri- Focus on growing these sectors tech, food manufacturing and biorenewables Business start-up rates are 20% below average, but Inspire an enterprise culture and start-up support survival rates are high Skills levels are good, but our lead over national A strong focus on the skills businesses most require average is eroding Employment rates are high but we have low wage Active inclusion and employability activity levels Carbon emissions are reducing but more slowly than Help businesses to reduce emissions and boost average profits through resource efficiency We have complex geography and specific growth Unblock growth based on major physical opportunities and transport needs related to this developments and transport improvements Making a difference To ensure we are adding value we will only fund activity where there is market failure or where we can stimulate bigger, better or faster delivery. All investments will pass a selection test which considers; strategic fit, value for money, market failure and additionality. iv Delivery and Resources We will use a range of funding and influencing mechanisms to deliver the strategy including existing local funding streams, private sector investment, central government funding and EU support. A local growth team will be created bringing together partners from different organisations to deliver the LEP strategy. The core secretariat will be funded via local authority contributions, central government funding and EU Technical Capacity. We have been allocated €110m of EU Structural and Investment Funds for our LEP area. This document sets out the strategy for how these funds will be used to deliver our priorities and our proposals to invest Local Growth Funding from UK Government. Global event, North Yorkshire engineering The 2012 Olympics was a global success. The opening ceremony celebrated the UK’s industrial heritage and culminated in the lighting of the Olympic flame. North Yorkshire-based Stage One ltd’s world class, precision engineering company produced the acclaimed Olympic Cauldron. Measuring Success Key Outputs: For businesses, success will mean increased business profitability, productivity and resilience. For people, it will also mean rising incomes, and we will strive to ensure that economic growth goes hand in hand with an excellent quality of life and a high Businesses quality environment.