BE encouraged by Roland Harris' air of optimism.

It isn't fathered by the rosy glow of the aftermath of his announcement that he is to retire as chief executive of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce next spring.

Rather, it's backed by the certainty that York's economy is far stronger, more diverse and resilient than it was when he took on the post five years ago.

And the happy analyses of this former district postmaster at York usually prove to be uncannily right, as with his assurance to all those crying doom following the collapse of ABB engineering four years ago.

Exit one big employer, enter another, he predicted, and lo! A new railway engineering venture arose from the ashes of ABB on the Holgate Park site in the shape of US-based Thrall Europa.

So when the 57-year-old Mr Harris refutes those Cassandras who now foresee mass regional recession in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the US, be cheered .

He says: "Yes, we will see slowdown, and perhaps even nil growth or decline, but equally we must accept that for almost ten years the UK economy has been improving and increasing in spite of losing lots of engineering and manufacturing capacity.

"It is not unreasonable to suppose that in this region we have an opportunity to avoid the worst excesses of a recession."

Now, he says, the regional economy has become much more service oriented - and knowledge-based businesses spun off from the University of York have begun to wield and yield a huge influence in jobs and wealth, as well as attracting inward investment from exciting ventures abroad and elsewhere in Britain.

He also presided over York's growing reputation as a shopping city, with the establishment of out-of-town developments like Monks Cross leisure park and the BAA McArthurGlen designer outlet on the former Naburn hospital site in Fulford.

"Retail activity has been very good in York even allowing for the dreadful events of September 11 and the loss of overseas visitors. A lot of work has been done to reverse that by the city's tourism authorities."

And yes, he is still strongly supportive of plans for retail development in Coppergate. There was, after all, huge interest from national retailers who want to open shops in the city but are up against problems of the size and shape of units.

"What is vital, though, is to ensure that whatever retail development we have adds value and enhances rather than detracts from what York already has," he says.

But there are unqualified words of warning from Mr Harris over the dangers of not making broadband more widely available in the region. He warns BT: "You can't absolve yourself with the argument that you are merely the wholesaler of the infrastructure and that the real blame for not marketing broadband effectively lies at the door of the service providers.

"If a wholesaler believed that a retailer was not doing what it ought to they wouldn't absolve themselves by passing on the blame.

"They would take action and work far more closely with other retailers/distributors to improve the take-up of what was already available."

He had high regard for the research and development work carried out by BT, and could see that BT was a victim of a regulatory regime which forbade it from discussing ADSL service providers with possible customers.

"But we must throw down the gauntlet to BT not to just wring its hands in horror, but to challenge its own regulator."

Another word of warning before he leaves it all to play golf with his wife, Lucinda, and pursues his passion for military history: "Far too few businesses in our region are investing in training, upskilling and the development of their workforce. Oh, there is a lot of talk, but a lot more action is needed."

He called for the government to introduce a tax credit for skills development in much the same way as the pre-Budget announcement promised credits for research and development for larger companies.

"I don't see why any business which spends X per cent of turnover shouldn't get a tax credit worth £Y," he says.