The creative and digital economy is York’s fastest growing sector, employing almost 9,000 people.

Data from the Business Register and Employment Survey shows rapid growth in the creative and digital sector in the city which has seen 18.4 per cent growth between 2011 and 2012, more than five times the national average over the same period which was 3.2 per cent.

This growth helped to create 580 new jobs in York, with the statistics also showing the fastest growing sub-sectors in the city have been in software publishing, computer programming, computer consultancy, advertising agencies and media representation.

There are 250 creative and media arts businesses and 100 ICT, electronics, software and digital businesses employing another 2,400 people.

The city’s education sector is continuing to feed the growth with 5,000 students a year studying more than 160 courses in media arts provided by York’s universities and further education colleges.

More than £100 million has been invested in media arts facilities and resources to support the sector by York’s two universities, including in new business premises based on the campus to foster collaboration.

The University of York has York Science Park on its doorstep, with dedicated incubation space for graduate entrepreneurs.

York St John University has also invested £90 million in its citycentre campus in the last decade and its alumni set up a steady stream of creative and digital businesses.

To house these businesses, York St John opened its Phoenix Centre in 2009, which provides affordable space for new creative and IT-based ventures, with access to sector specific business support, mentoring and training.

Designworks is another incubation space for start-up businesses in the world of product design based at York St John University, which also benefits from the university’s Creative Business Office’s business support.

York’s creative scene is nurtured with events and opportunities to grow and develop.

Shift Happens, a TED (Technology Entertainment Design) style conference has been held in the city since 2008, organised by city’s innovative Pilot Theatre educational touring theatre company. In 2011, it was replaced by an officially licensed TEDx York, and continues to attract high-profile keynote speakers.

Venturefest Yorkshire, an annual exhibition of the region’s homegrown talent in science and technology also enables local businesses to pitch for prizes of tens of thousands of pounds worth of business support and get noticed by angel investors.

The city’s many cultural events also offer the opportunity for local creative businesses to get involved. An annual highlight is Illuminating York, in which light shows and installations are used to show off the city’s unique heritage in a different light.

With such a fast growing sector the need has been outlined for a dedicated creative media centre in York.

City of York Council’s cabinet has approved plans to use £400,000 from a pre-agreed pot of £1.4 million for preparation works to transform the Guildhall into a digital media and arts centre, which is expected to create up to 500 jobs and contribute £6.2 million to the city’s economy (GVA).

Serving the creative and digital sector is an ambition within the city to become the Digital Infrastructure Capital of the North.

Last year saw the launch of the York CORE, which is a pure fibre network, running throughout the city, connecting 110 sites including council offices, schools and data centres with gigabit speed services.

Following its launch to enhance public-sector internet efficiency, CityFibre, the network owner, has been working alongside service provider partners to help York’s businesses take advantage of the pure fibre infrastructure in the city, and bring high-speed, high-quality connectivity services to businesses in York.

The aim was that by March last year 80 per cent of York businesses would be within 200 metres of the 103km network owned by CityFibre in partnership with City of York Council.

In 2012, only 5.7 per cent of premises in York had access to super-fast broadband; that was against the UK average of 7.3 per cent.

Now the figure stands at 17 per cent, overtaking the national average which is 16 per cent.

The York CORE project runs alongside the local authority’s Super-Connected Cities plan, which includes improved links for outer York companies and at business parks, as well as better wifi connectivity across the city centre and on key public transport routes, such as Park&Ride.

National and local providers including CityFibre, York Data Services, Virgin and BT offer high speeds to much of the city, but more rural areas have been left behind.

The Superfast North Yorkshire project, a partnership between North Yorkshire County Council and BT, will also roll out fibre broadband to 90 per cent of the county’s homes and businesses by the end of this year.

Part of a £50 million investment by Government, backed by European Union funding, the project will increase the average speed from 6.6Mbps to 25Mbps or more and ensure a minimum speed of 2Mbps.

The remaining ten per cent are expected to be able to access speeds from 2Mbps to 24Mbps using alternative technologies, such as wireless, satellite and advanced copper.

The University of York has launched a new centre for its growing inter-disciplinary research into quantum technologies.

The York Centre for Quantum Technologies is a joint venture between the university’s departments of physics, mathematics, computer science and chemistry.

It aims to build on the university’s existing expertise across a range of quantum technologies, including communications, metrology and computing.

Initially, the centre will involve about a dozen researchers, but aims to expand its activities. Its founding director will be Professor Tim Spiller, who will take up his post in April.