FEATURE: TRANSPORT & TRAVEL
between the two cities underlines this. The increasing dependency upon this relationship for the city region requires transport investment to match. Many jobs will be provided within the District and it is important that the local transport system is capable of allowing the District’s workforce to access them. Given the size of the working age population, good transport within the District and its main centres is important to the economic performance of the city region as a whole. Yet this is not only a concern for a particular part of the District, the need to improve ‘connectivity’ is a District wide priority. There are two other significant features of the District’s economy that have transport implications. The first is the shift away from manufacturing to service sector, which is likely to continue. The District’s rate of growth in the service sector jobs has not matched the pace of growth recorded at regional and national level. Regeneration activity includes the transformation of the city centre and this will be important for the service sector.
The anticipated growth in city centre employment will make a substantial contribution to the District’s overall job growth and will be complemented by the Airedale Corridor, other centres and some dispersal of work locations through technology advances. The District will need a transport system for these wider areas to be accessed by all communities. The second is the shift towards small and medium enterprises. The transport implication is that this may lead to more dispersed business locations. This would also suggest that some of the larger employment sites and traditional employment areas will be redeveloped for mixed or other uses which may have transport impacts, such as on peak travel and on existing public transport networks.
York
There is a particularly strong link between transport and prosperity in the York area. The tourism industry, which is especially reliant on good access to the historic and leisure attractions in the city centre, is one of the cornerstones of the economy.
However, York is not reliant on a single sector and has a diverse growing economy with new bioscience and other knowledge based industries developing rapidly through the Science City initiative. The ability to embrace these new industries is facilitated by a good transport network allowing movement of a flexible workforce over a wider area. The addition of new infrastructure, such as the improved connectivity provided by the northern outer ring road in the late 1980s, can provide a significant boost to the economy. The construction of this route, in particular, enabled the development of large new residential and employment areas in the north and west of the city. A similar level of investment is needed to resolve the city’s current congestion
problems which are becoming a significant constraint on businesses’ activity. York has a need for mass transit systems which provide quality alternatives to the private car.
Since 1990 the Park & Ride system has enabled people to travel to the heart of the city without impacting on congestion and air quality levels. The city has developed the Access York project to enhance the Park & Ride service and upgrade the northern outer ring road.
It is essential that the distribution of the limited national funds support successful economic areas with growth potential.
Capital funding for targeted infrastructure improvements and revenue funds for solutions which encourage the most sustainable use of the existing network are needed. Streamlined processes need to be in place which enable a more rapid allocation of funds to resolve identified bottlenecks. Clarity over the funding of preparatory investigation and feasibility work is required at an early stage to minimise abortive expenditure at a local level. The delegation of funding approval of smaller schemes (£25m) to a sub-national (potentially LEPs) level would reduce overall project timescales and preparatory costs.
York and North Yorkshire
The size and geography of the county means that it has a very diverse economy.
Different areas have different economic strengths and drivers. Agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, creative industries and the public sector are all particularly strong in parts of the county. The county’s business base is heavily reliant upon self employment and “small” businesses (employing less than 4 people), which are in diverse sectors and perhaps consequently react quickly to changing circumstances. Forecasting trends in the present economic climate is difficult, but future changes in the composition of the North Yorkshire economy will have implications for transport.
Ensuring that the county continues to be an attractive location for businesses to do business is a main element of this. Transport is likely to be one of the major factors impacting on the ability of the county to compete regionally, nationally and internationally.
Through maintaining and improving connectivity and reducing lost productive time a significant contribution to improving the economic performance of the county can be made.
A major challenge exists to continue to support the higher performing economies to ensure that they remain successful and cater for the high travel to work volumes across the county. It is also important to look at ways in which connectivity can be improved particularly to areas with lower performing economies.
WEST & NORTH YORKSHIRE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 2011 49
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