A RALLYING call has been made for York business leaders to back the city's bid to host the headquarters of the Great British Railways.

The competition to find the best location has attracted bids from 42 towns and cities, with the promise of investment and jobs.

City of York Council's head of regeneration and economy Andy Kerr issued 'a call to action' at the launch event of York's Top 100 Businesses, attended by many of York most significant employers.

"We can't do it alone," he said, as the public vote element of the contest gets underway.

"It is crucial we harness the support of our residents and businesses."

Key competition for York was Derby, Doncaster and Darlington, with levelling up, value for money and rail heritage among the criteria, he said.

York is the strongest economy in Yorkshire, but the city is only at or below the national average on both GVA and wage measures.

Levelling up in York means driving the city up into the top 25 per cent of UK economies, attracting international investment in the region, and creating jobs for more than five million people who live within a one-hour commute.

York's strengths include being a globally-recognised location, famous for its railways and a destination for millions of rail customers and visitors.

It already has a highly-qualified, experienced workforce and an existing high-tech rail cluster and ecosystem.

"Basing GBR in York will supercharge that eco system; it will allow York to become a globally competitive city for rail excellence and we are absolutely ready for it to come to York," said Andy.

"We have existing offices in the city centre where our other rail sector partners are already based which are ready now. More interestingly we have the opportunity for York Central to be the heart of that. It's on Network Rail land and it's one of the UK's biggest regeneration sites."

York is also home to the National Railway Museum; world-leading research is being carried out at our universities, and York is ready for GBR now with available sites, the people and ambition to make it a success.

"What would GBR HQ mean for you as businesses?" Andy asked. "Levelling up is a key part of that narrative.

"We are doing comparatively well; we do great as a place and we do very well in the north. But we shouldn't be comparing ourselves with our other partners and other cities in Yorkshire and in the north.

"We should be comparing ourselves with Russell Group university towns in the south east. That's the impact we should be having as a player. We should be the Cambridge of Yorkshire.

"We should be driving our local regional economy. That's what levelling up truly means."

The GBR would bring jobs to York, open opportunities to expand the rail eco system and bring inward investment, he said which lead to graduate retention in the city, boost hospitality and business tourism.

Andy urged people to help spread the message about York's campaign.

"Vote yes to York and influence anyone who you think has an influence."

Other features of York's bid focus on how rail unlocked York’s economy, transporting chocolate and bringing visitors.

The council’s offices are in the city’s first railway station.

LNER, Trans Pennine Express, Northern Rail, Grand Central are already based in a rail campus within minutes of the station, in buildings named Hudson, Stephenson and in Station Rise.

For generations, young people in Yorkshire have aspired to work on the railways and travelled to York to do so.

It was York people that built the carriages that carried the passengers that powered the country’s growth.

Today York is a leader in rail automation and digitalisation, while it is still an industry that creates jobs at all skill levels.

Local businesses are being urged to use social media to share how they contribute to the rail sector and its supply chains, and show how they attract and inspire people in tech, engineering, operations and administration roles or skills development.

Use #destinationGBR and #yes2York.

The council is planning to launch a toolkit and logo that local businesses can display on their websites and social media feeds.

For more information and to register support visit www.ynylep.com/yes2york

To get more actively involved, contact Claire Foale, assistant director policy and strategy at York council on claire.foale@york.gov.uk