‘Five things York needs to make it a truly great city’

When you hear the word York, the first thing you think of is the Minster and all that history.

Yet it seems to be lacking something, and with a population of just under 200,000 the demand for more is growing.

As a student who’s lived and studied here for the past three years, here’s a list of five things I think York needs to improve the city for young people.

1. An arena

Having to trek over to Leeds every time I want to see one of my favourite artists isn’t ideal. York needs a proper big music venue, so we can have top artists and bands come to us! I’m sure the O2 could pitch up a little stadium here, surely?

2. An Ikea – obviously!

Now, we all love a trip to our favourite Swedish flatpack furniture store. But York doesn’t have one. Not only can you find all kinds of wonderful things in there, but the meatballs are out of this world! Why oh why are we being deprived of all the flatpack, meatbally goodness?

3. Weird museums

Okay, we do have Jorvik and one or two others, I’ll give York that. But there’s only so much Viking memorabilia a person can take. Take Camera Obscura and World of Illusions in Edinburgh. That kind of thing would fit in perfectly in a place like York, for tourists, students and local families.

4. Some good nightclubs

If you’re a student like me, you’ll of visited all the usuals like Salvation and Kuda and you’ll know it’s sticky floors, boring drinks and the same five songs played every night. One place that we could take inspiration from is the Welly in Hull. Cheap drinks, three dance floors and a different themed night regularly! York, take a leaf out of Welly’s book.

5. It’s own Westfield

York does not have much of a shopping centre and instead, we just have lots of tiny shops scattered all over. As charming as this is, it’s also nice to have a general hub of shops to visit. Westfield in London is a wonderful example of this. Featuring 350 shops over three floors, the choices are endless. The closest York has is the Designer Outlet which is far out of the city centre and has a limited number of shops.

 
And those are just a few things I think York could do with! I love all it’s quaint little pubs and restaurants, but these could just add an extra something… What would you choose?