Council unveils priorities for the next 4 years

Equalities, affordability, climate and health are at the heart of a new council plan that will be considered at public meetings this month.

The Council Plan ‘One City, for all’ recognises that for many the experience of living in the city is different depending on where you live. 'One City, for all' sets out priorities for the next 4 years with a focus on helping everyone, wherever they live in the city, have happier and healthier lives.

Reducing health inequalities, taking bold action to tackle the climate emergency as well as creating equality of opportunity are among the priorities outlined in the Plan. The Plan also includes finding innovative ways to make the city more affordable to live in and for all residents to benefit from the city’s success as key objectives in the years ahead.

The themes of the Plan the council will focus on are:

• health and wellbeing: a health generating city, for children and adults
• education and skills: high quality skills and learning for all
• economy and good employment: a fair, thriving, green economy for all
• transport: sustainable accessible transport for all
• housing: increasing the supply of affordable housing
• sustainability: cutting carbon, enhancing the environment for our future
• how the council operates

The Plan will be discussed at an Executive meeting next week. 'One City, for all' (the Council Plan 2023 to 2027) also reflects the challenging financial position the council faces by sharing a framework of priority actions to focus on with its limited resources (on page 10) and setting out plans to attract investment into the city and communities.

Councillor Claire Douglas, Leader of City of York Council said:

"This Council Plan is an ambitious and realistic vision for the future of our city.

"We are up for the challenge and will work hard for the city, for residents and for communities. We can’t do this alone, and we will work with the whole city to deliver our ambitions. We will work to create equal opportunity, find innovative ways to make the city more affordable using external funding wherever possible, tackle climate change, improve health and wellbeing, and target the areas in the city which need the most support, improving the lives of residents now and for generations to come.”

Councillor Pete Kilbane, Deputy Leader of City of York Council and Executive Member for Transport and Economy said:

"We are committed to delivering on our vision so every York resident has a stake in the city and the opportunity to succeed and live a happy and healthy life.

"This sums up what we are here to try to achieve.

“This Plan is in line with the commitments we made to the people of York and we are focused on delivering them. In each of our commitments and themes we are focussed on ensuring everyone is included and supported to achieve their goals, from developing the right skills to get the job they want to finding a home that is affordable. These are some of the basics of a society and an economy that functions well. With such limited resource we will have to focus it on where it’s most needed to deliver our aspiration to be one city, for all."

The Council Plan and Finance Monitor will be discussed at an Executive meeting on 14 September 2023. If approved there, the Council Plan will be taken to Full Council for approval on 21 September 2023. Both meetings will be available to view online live and on demand and agendas for the meetings are available online.