York City-wide Leaders' Meeting to host new Mayor

When they meet this week, York City Leaders are to be joined by the newly elected Mayor for York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, in his first week in the job.

The Mayor has confirmed he will meet key partners from across the city on what will be only his third day in office.

City of York Council is bringing together a key group of senior city partners to greet the newly elected Mayor in City of York’ Council’s West Offices on Thursday 9th May.

Organisations expected to meet the Mayor include Explore York, North Yorkshire Police, York CVS, Network Rail, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, University of York and York College, York BID and Make It York, Unison, York Civic Trust, and York Minster.

City leaders will hear from the Mayor and have the opportunity to discuss what’s important to their organisations, highlight their priorities for the city and provide the Mayor with early input on how York's strong partnership working can help to achieve results. It will also highlight to the Mayor how opportunities to work closely together can contribute to regional success.

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

“I’m delighted to congratulate Mayor Skaith on his election to this hugely important position and to say how much we look forward to working with him to advance the priorities of York residents, business and organisations, as well as those across the region.

“The election of a Mayor builds on the progressive partnership developed by York and North Yorkshire Councils, leaving our region well placed to realise the benefits presented by devolution. I hope through collaborative and constructive joint working with the Mayor that York and North Yorkshire will achieve greater devolution in the future, bringing even more funding and powers closer to those it affects.

“It’s the start of a new, important era for our region and city leaders meeting the Mayor at this early stage provides us with a great opportunity to make a positive start.

“Our Council Plan, ‘One City, for all’ makes clear our absolute commitment to working with the elected Mayor to champion the interests of the city, and the region, particularly in respect of meeting our ambitions on net zero, strategic transport, and the economy, helping make the city more affordable, more sustainable and more accessible.

“That we have been able to seize this early opportunity to work with Mayor Skaith demonstrates the strength of our commitment, the importance of the role of our city partners, and the centrality of York to the future success of our region”.

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said,

“I’m honoured to take on the role of Mayor for York and North Yorkshire. I’m looking to bring together York and North Yorkshire as one.

“This new role of Mayor, and the Combined Authority, presents a great deal of opportunities to the region. We can attract new investment, and tackle keys areas such as affordable housing and transport. Today is just the start, and I’m looking forward to working with partners, businesses, and communities.

“Over my first few weeks as Mayor, I want to take every opportunity to listen to communities across the region. It’s vital that communities understand the role of Mayor and what it means for York and North Yorkshire. This is a huge opportunity to make lives better for people across the region long into the future. I take the responsibility very seriously and I want to ensure that we get this right and deliver benefits to communities now and for the future.”

Discussion is set to take place on a wide range of issues of mutual interest to the City, Mayor and Combined Authority, including the outline regional framework and the role of partners in representing York’s interests.