10 Year Plan
York 2032 has been co-produced by partner organisations in York to identify the 5 York 2032 Priorities, and inform our actions which city partners, local communities, and wider city stakeholders will now take to make the vision a reality.
The York 2032 Vision is that:
York will be a vibrant, prosperous, welcoming and sustainable city, where everyone can share and take pride in its success.
The York 2032 vision and 5 York 2032 Priorities have been agreed by partners and will be informed, steered and supported by partnership working throughout the decade ahead.
Although actions may change, it is planned that the vision and priorities will remain constant.
- York today - 2022
- Our building blocks for success
- Our future
- Challenges
- York 2032
- Developing the Vision
York today - 2022
York is renowned for its heritage, culture and beauty. It is a unique and very special city.
Regularly topping the best place to live polls, York is a safe city, home to around 200,000 residents and welcoming 8 million visitors a year.
York’s foundations are built on strong communities in distinct neighbourhoods nestled between protected open green spaces. York is a city of many deep layers on which stand the Minster, the city walls, our Viking heritage and our creativity in music, theatre and art.
We have successfully retained our character and size over the centuries. This is one of the great strengths of our city.
We are large enough to be ambitious and yet compact enough to foster strong relationships. In York everyone who lives, works or visits York can participate in the city and make a difference for our neighbours, our families and our friends.
York’s economy has been a global leader in railways, chocolate and confectionary. We proudly drive the regional economy and make a nationally significant contribution to social change.
Our building blocks for success
York is a thriving, vibrant, forward-looking global city, one that welcomes communities from around the world, celebrates diversity, champions social justice, and strives to improve.
York is pioneering the future of 21st century industries in railtech, biotechnology, creative tech and the tech economies.
Collectively known as "Higher York", our 2 world-leading universities and outstanding further education colleges drive economic innovation through their skills development, their research and the talent pipeline of their graduates.
Higher York opens up access to economic opportunity by working with schools and employers to identify and develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to nurture a talented and dynamic workforce. The Higher York partnership engages with businesses large and small to collaborate in skills development, research, and innovation; starting, accelerating and scaling up new companies.
Our internationally renowned centres of excellence build on our history of being at the forefront of unique industries for centuries, such as stone masonry, arts and culture, tourism, events and chocolate and sugar confectionary.
York has made a nationally significant contribution to social change and will address the current issues of poverty that affect nearly a quarter of our population. This will also build on our proud public health history, as the birthplace of John Snow, the city with the first ever female Chief Medical Officer for Health (Dr Catherine Crane), and in pioneering new, more humane methods of treatment in mental illness at the York Retreat.
Our future
It is this bold spirit that led to our shared vision for the city.
Collectively, we know we can achieve so much for our city. The city-wide response to the pandemic showed us what’s possible, if together we support one another on shared priorities.
Collectively, city partners have a huge regional and national reach, influence and incredible power to make things better for everyone in the city, so everyone can share in our success.
Together, we can proactively shape a better future for the city we are proud to call home.
Challenges
York has a strong economy, with high employment, wages above average, productivity among the highest in the North, a great education system, the most skilled workforce in the North and a reputation as a great place to live.
However, around 20% of York households are in areas that are some of the most deprived in the UK. Pay, housing, secure employment, health and healthy living are widely diverse, depending where in the city you live.
Covid together with rapidly accelerating societal challenges, for example in 2022 rising energy costs and the rising cost of living, have contributed to more people experiencing living standards below those many people in York enjoy and expect.
Despite accelerating delivery of affordable housing, providing sufficient homes to meet demand remains a challenge.
York 2032
In 2030 York will launch the next City Vision, co-designed with residents, community groups, businesses, partners and stakeholders.
York will also deliver the Action Plan to become carbon neutral.
By 2032 York will be a vibrant, prosperous, welcoming and sustainable city, where everyone shares and takes pride in its success.
Developing the Vision
We know that we must work together to consider how best to:
- enhance our way of life
- adapt to regional opportunities
- learn and build on our response to the pandemic
- mitigate the ongoing effects of climate change to achieve net zero carbon by 2030
Everyone in York has a part to play to achieve our ambitions - the people who live and work here, the people who visit and enjoy the city, the people who champion and stand up for our city.
To develop the 10 Year Vision, we drew on 3 different interrelated approaches:
Understanding the policy context
The national, regional and local policy environment was drawn together to better understand the challenges the city faces. Evidence about the impact of carbon emissions, the economy post-COVID-19, and the health and wellbeing of residents helped set the broad priorities for the city.
See more information about the development of national, regional and local policy.
Gathering resident, business, partner and stakeholder insight and intelligence
Over the last 18 months, we set out to understand what is important to residents, what changes they would like to see and ultimately what future they saw for the city.
Building on our shared commitment to the city
To build on a strong culture of commitment to the city and collective action already evident in city partners approach to COVID-19, York Health and Care Partnership, the response to the cost of living crisis, preparing for devolution and other city-wide issues, city partners initially shaped the vision and plan prior to further citizen engagement to help inform the 10 Year Plan actions.
City partners represent key sectors across the city. They contributed a wide and diverse range of expertise covering:
- tourism
- rail
- biotech
- digital
- health and care
- community
- higher education
- research and innovation
- local government
- conservation and heritage
- the voluntary sector
- social research
See more information about the process, and our strategies, policies and plans.
