BRITAIN'S science city is expanding. The statistics measure the leap forward: 450,000 square feet of hi-tech offices built on 26 York acres housing up to 5,000 workers thanks to a £50 million investment.

But bald figures and artists' impressions do not tell the whole story. This is more than simply another office development. It is another step to making ours a 21st century city. The Monks Cross Science Park will make York's future as visible as its past.

When Lord Sainsbury launched the Science City York initiative in 1998, he set in train an experiment larger than any conducted in Heslington's whitewashed laboratories. The council and the university were sure that York had the potential to become a major scientific centre. By combining academic and entrepreneurial excellence, they hoped to create a dynamic new force for prosperity.

The Monks Cross Science Park is the result that confirms this experiment's success. Science City York is creating jobs and wealth.

The news is also a timely boost for the local economy. Most experts suggest we face a difficult few months ahead. The shockwaves from the US slowdown are beginning to rock the British economy. Manufacturing is in recession, and York is not insulated from that. Only last week we reported how the jobs of 80 Nestl workers were under threat as the firm said it might sell its ice cream business.

Moreover, property analysts suggest that the housing boom is about to end. And Britain's trade gap is at record levels.

In times of such uncertainty, the science park initiative is doubly heartening. Bio-science, computer science and other hi-tech industries are the future. York has secured itself a large piece of that future. Hundreds of jobs will be created for local people.

The architect behind the science park said today it will help make York "the Cambridge of the North". If this momentum can be maintained, they might soon be calling Cambridge "the York of the South".

Updated: 10:44 Tuesday, August 21, 2001