York, warehousing and logistics

York is one of the oldest, and most developed road access cities in the UK. Founded by the Romans, York is  hub for several long distance motorways which were originally Roman roads. Sitting at the junction of both the A19 from Doncaster to Tyneside, the A59 from Liverpool to York itself, the A64 running from Leeds to Scarborough and the A1079 which travels from York to Hull, freight, transport and logistics services are able to use York as a hub for transit from the north to Scotland and down to the south of England. A notable fact is that York, like most major UK cities, is surrounded by a ring round around 5 kilometres from the city centre, to allow traffic to by-pass the medieval city centre which has its own city walls and is largely designated as vehicle free during business hours. Warehousing companies have learned to schedule logistic operations for outside normal working hours and to organise their transport to ensure that it recognises York’s idiosyncratic one way systems!

In 2020 a report claimed that York provides £5.2 billion to the UK economy, through around 9,000 businesses based in the city, which are largely service industries, drawing on the city’s outstanding digital infrastructure and well-educated workforce which has a low unemployment rate. In fact, in 2023, the Cities Outlook report, which performs an annual ‘health check’ of the UK’s cities and major towns, ranked York eighth highest in employment in the UK as a whole and highest in the North of England, with employment at 81.6%. In terms of ‘hidden unemployment’ (which includes not retired but not working and those whose employment does not contribute enough to prevent the majority of their income coming from benefits) York had a rate of 8.9%, which is very low in comparison, for example to Hull, which has a hidden unemployment rate of 19.4%.  One reason for this is that York has two world class universities, and is the UK’s first Gigabit city, meaning it has an ‘intelligent fibre network’ which can meet and exceed the needs of the region, both residential, public sector, and business. This gives York a substantial advantage for e-commerce fulfilment and warehousing space that utilises digital infrastructure and automation through its supply chain, guaranteeing a rapid and reliable digital network and giving York the edge in terms of Internet of Things technology. It should come as no surprise that industries that are particularly strong in York include biotechnology, digital, creative and IT companies, and finance and professional services.

Traditional warehousing in York

However, more traditional forms of warehousing are not neglected. Significantly, York has always been a major railway centre. The first railway line was built here in  1839, which was the very inception of the ‘railway age’. For decades the North Eastern Railway based both its operational headquarters and its building yards in York. Today the situation is somewhat different. The September 2023 cancellation of the long delayed, and constantly changing HS2 train project up to Yorkshire has created some concern in the local business community but also led the government to commit to a different form of investment in regional transport infrastructure which will benefit the warehousing and logistics industries in York in particular. Included in the reinvestment are:

• A £2.5 billion sum for a new West Yorkshire mass-transit system which will result in better connections to Bradford and Wakefield.
• Investment in reopening closed train lines to reconnect communities, including building a new Haxby Station, near York
• There will be £1.4 billion investment in infrastructure for South Yorkshire which will come directly from HS2 savings
• A further £1.3 billion is to be made available for infrastructure development in West Yorkshire, with a specific £500m advance payment to fund the the West Yorkshire Mass Transit.

These investments, along with a commitment to fund pothole filling on local roads, are likely to make for smoother and more rapid movements of goods to and from York, giving it an added attraction for businesses looking to site themselves in the other or expand their activities there.

In addition, York is particularly well supplied with warehouse rental spaces, despite its medieval city centre, because the Victorian era and the rail enterprises created large, well resourced industrial areas which have been retrofitted and repurposed for contemporary businesses. In addition, the city has a proactive focus on partnership working, bringing together the city council with local traders associations, the Federation of Small Businesses, Indie York and the city’s Retail Forum to create a positive climate for both classic and pioneering forms of business activity. One example of this is York Central.

York Central – a prime redevelopment site for business

York Central is a combined commercial and residential development, which is designed to turn one of the UK’s biggest brownfield sites into a major driver of the local economy. Located next to York railway station, making it a prime centre for storage, warehouse space and logistics, the multi-million pound project is projected to boost the local economy by 20% once completed. Warehouse space is well provided for in the plan, and starter businesses are located in good locations to allow them to expand their operations.

York – energy and infrastructure

In early 2023, UK Investments said that, subject to a Final Investment decision, it has raised more than a billion pounds to turn the former Eggborough coal station into an innovative Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant. This project is designed to help deliver electricity generation and energy security across the UK and will also make good use of an existing brownfield site that has some of the necessary infrastructure in place. This is significant for York, and for warehousing and logistics companies in particular because:

Eggborough would provide an energy back-up when renewable generating capacity drops, ensuring that a good power supply is always available to back up the city’s Gigabit performance, and the project will bring substantial benefits for the local economy, not only during construction but throughout operation, including ancillary advantages such as warehouse and storage facilities for businesses operating in the heavy plant and construction sectors.