Low wages may price people out of living in city
RISING HOUSE prices and stagnating wages could see people priced out of living in a historic Yorkshire city as it becomes “overrun” with tourists.
The warning over the future of York’s economy has been made as council bosses seek to draw up a renewed strategy to boost jobs and growth.
A report by York Council said wages in the city have been growing but are still lagging behind the national average. Retail, tourism, hospitality, health and social care and education make up 60 per cent of all jobs in the city.
While higher-wage sectors like science, creative industries and financial services are growing faster than other parts of the economy, they still represent a minority of employment in York.
The report said that if the economy continues to grow in the way it has since 2008, there would be strong growth in retail and tourism, but a decline in office accommodation and further hikes in house prices.
Without intervention in the economy, “York becomes a university and dormitory town, overrun by tourists and too expensive for ‘Yorkies’ to live in’,” the report warns.
But measures to boost jobs and housebuilding would reinvent York as “the intellectual hub of the Northern Powerhouse”.
Coun Ian Gillies, leader of York Council, said: “York has well-established strengths. We have superb digital and transport connectivity, growing creative and high-value sectors, and the city is a highly desirable place to live and work.
“With the right collaboration and investment, we can build on this enviable platform to attract new sectors and develop a more resilient economy.”
York’s current economic strategy was drawn up in 2015 and launched just after the Brexit referendum in summer 2016.
The report calls for the strategy to be updated for 2020 onwards. Targets include growing wages to be higher than the national average by 2025 and providing more housing and space for businesses.
Plans to update the strategy are being drawn up as the council expects an initial planning application for the York Central development next month, ahead of more detailed plans in September.
The 111-acre scheme, the largest regeneration project in the city’s history, includes new homes and commercial buildings. It is being drawn up by Homes England, Network Rail, York Council and the National Railway Museum and could help grow the city’s economy by 20 per cent.
A £30m redevelopment is also planned for York’s Castle Gateway area.
Coun Keith Aspden, York Council’s executive member for economic development, said: “By working with partners across the city, we are making excellent progress to deliver these vital building blocks for the city’s future.
“Our economic strategy is now partway through its life, and it is important that we adapt it to the ever-changing economic landscape.”