EIGHT steps have been set out to improve York's business environment as a new Economic Plan is laid out for the city.

City of York Council has drawn up a four-year strategy, outlining priority areas for boosting business in York up to 2020.

The plans, which will go before the council's Executive on Thursday, have been drafted following a year long consultation with business groups and entrepreneurs in York, with the authority claiming to have taken heed of the input and ideas from more than 100 businesses and delivery bodies in the city, as well as the evidence available.

After dismissing the previous 19-point Economic Plan as too "vague and not necessarily specific to York", with success being hard to measure as a result, the latest plan focusses on "Eight Essential To Do's".

Over the next four years the plan aims to deliver York Central Enterprise Zone, deliver a Local Plan that supports a high value economy, take practical steps to develop and retain talent in the city, drive university and research-led business growth in key sectors, lobby for investment in key transport networks, use local business rate freedoms to drive high value growth, make a fresh loud statement of cultural and visual identity, and bring people and businesses together in creative low-cost ways.

The objectives have been set out to address key challenges in the city, which have been identified as stagnant productivity and falling wage levels.

Cllr Keith Aspden, deputy leader and executive member for Economic Development, said: "This is not a council determined plan but a strategy owned by the city as a whole.

"We’ve worked with around 100 local businesses and skills providers to help develop the new strategy, which will help all York businesses, Higher and Further Education and others to identify their key challenges and provide opportunities to address these.

"The strategy includes key citywide aims such as delivering York Central, boosting apprenticeships and supporting local businesses. These ambitions for the city can only be delivered with all sectors fully on board, so it’s important that the assessment of challenges, opportunities and priorities is led by the business community, working in partnership with the council and other bodies."

A report on the Economic Plan, due to go before the Executive, says the strategy is "intended to be owned by the city as a whole, rather than it being the Council’s responsibility alone to deliver".

It claims many of the ambitions for the city can only be delivered with all sectors fully on board, so it is important that the assessment of challenges, opportunities and priorities is led by the business community, working in partnership with the Council and other bodies.