Business Secretary promises to close North-South divide

BUSINESS Secretary Vince Cable has pledged to narrow the North-South divide after witnessing firsthand the economic potential of one of the country’s largest development sites in Yorkshire.

Mr Cable was in York to visit the sprawling brownfield site which has been pinpointed as key to driving forward the city’s economy and addressing a critical lack of affordable housing. It is hoped that the £1bn York Central development, which is centred around the city’s railway station, will create as many as 7,500 jobs.

Mr Cable, who was born in York, said: “The Government is committed to help close the gap between North and South and encourage strong and sustainable growth across different industries. Today’s visit to Yorkshire highlights how different sectors and companies are playing their part from greener manufacturing to exports.”

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The development has been heralded as a “once in a generation opportunity” to bolster York’s economy, and will focus on providing offices for the burgeoning science and technology sector, the finance industry and thousands of new homes. The council is preparing a strategy to guide public and private sector investment in the site.

The council’s chief executive, Kersten England, said: “York has successfully reinvented itself from a railway and confectionery manufacturing city into an international hub for science and technology and a national centre for financial and business services. We are one of the fastest growing cities in the UK and we need to continue to evolve and develop our assets, such as York Central, to remain an attractive proposition for investors and competitive in industry.”