SUDDENLY, austerity is looking a little less painful.

Chancellor George Osborne will press ahead with £12 billion in cuts to the nation's welfare budget and £20 billion in cuts to Whitehall departments.

But he's decided not to cut tax credits, there will be no cuts to police budgets, and there will actually be more spending on defence, housing and affordable homes, transport and NHS.

Best of all for York was the announcement in Mr Osborne's autumn statement that York Central is to become one of 26 new Enterprise Zones.

That will mean half of all business rates generated in the zone will be kept in York, so they can be allocated to investment in infrastructure to unlock the potential of the huge brownfield site behind York station. New businesses which set up there will also get business rates relief for their first five years.

Council bosses claim that Enterprise Zone status will be worth £100 million to York. "This is a major milestone in making this key regeneration opportunity... a reality," said Chris Steward, the Tory leader of City of York Council.

It is indeed great news: and offers a genuine prospect that at long last the potential of this huge site could be unlocked.

As to the rest of Mr Osborne's autumn statement: it is good that there will be no more police cuts, and that the proposed cuts to tax credits won't go ahead.

How much relief poorer families will feel as a result is debatable. The £12 billion of welfare cuts will still go ahead - and tax credits will still be phased out altogether by 2018, to be replaced by a Universal Credit that critics say will be less generous.

Critics also point out that the cChancellor has failed to eliminate the deficit and get debt falling.

Nevertheless, for York at least, this has been a better autumn statement than many feared.

Let's count our blessings.