RICHARD Flanagan, the new president of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, has said that York needs to do more to stay competitive.

The partner at Lawrence Hannah said his priority would be to ensure York and North Yorkshire was ready for business as it emerges from the economic downturn.

He said: “More must be done to make our area a first-choice business destination and place for investment.”

The biggest issue York currently face, he said, was the agreement of the city’s Local Development Framework (LDF), which will decide development and planning issues for the next 20 to 25 years.

“It’s a pivotal point now,” he said. “We have got to get these policies right and engage with the local authority to make sure they understand the concerns of business and can create the conditions for growth.”

These were, he said, more housing and affordable housing and adequate space for business developments.

“If the city is to grow and continue to prosper, it has got to have places for those workers to live and sites allocated for the new business parks where they are all going to be situated.

“Great big sites like York Central and the British Sugar site are going to take time to deliver and they’re large sites, therefore expensive to develop. We have got to be able to respond by having smaller areas for development for business and housing, so we can respond to the growth of the economy as it occurs. We need to think of these now because you can’t just flick a switch. We have got to make more provision now and work on strategies to put these sites together.”

He also said the chamber must work closely with the local enterprise partnerships.

“They’re here to stay. It’s not good enough not to get involved. Nobody knows quite what they’re going to do, what their business plan is going to be, but it is important that we engage and get involved in that process.”


Facts

Richard Flanagan was born in Leeds and has lived in York for the last 40 years.

He is a Chartered Surveyor with more than 25 years experience, including at Sandersons and DTZ in York before joining commercial property agency and development consultancy Lawrence Hannah in 2001, where he is a partner.

Richard is a past president of the York & District Association of Valuers, Estate Agents and Auctioneers, and is an assessor for RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).