NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNCIL
19 JULY 2023
STATEMENT OF EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR OPEN TO BUSINESS
including Economic Development & Regeneration, Planning, Visitor Economy, Broadband, and Harbours
Economic Development, Regeneration, Tourism & Skills
Economic Growth Strategy
The first draft of the Economic Growth Strategy for the Council has been produced and a variety of sessions are taking place with members and key partners to test, challenge and shape the development of the strategy over the summer. Following revisions to reflect the comments received, the Strategy will be submitted to the Executive and then to Council for adoption in November 2023.
Tourism Review – Development of Destination Management Plan
Work has commenced on the review of tourism and the development of a new Destination Management Plan for North Yorkshire. Consultation with council members, stakeholders, business groups and internal senior officers has taken place. The first draft of the plan will be circulated for consultation during July with a view to having the final draft plan to bring to Council in August/September.
Yorkshire Tourism Project/Partnership
In addition to the North Yorkshire tourism review, officers and members have been working on the development of a new Yorkshire wide Partnership with tourism leads from councils across East, North, South and West Yorkshire and Visit England coming together to developing a new Marketing Strategy to promote the brand of Yorkshire Nationally and Internationally. A Marketing Manager will be appointed to support this work and work closely with Yorkshire’s sub-regional partners.
UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has approved the Council’s Rural England Prosperity Fund Investment Plan providing a further £5.4m of investment for rural communities in North Yorkshire. A programme manager has been appointed to oversee the delivery of the UKSPF and REPF investment plans. In this financial year there is a total of £5.4m to deliver with the majority of the fund (more than £15 million) becoming available from 2024/25. North Yorkshire Council has the largest Rural England Prosperity Fund allocation in the Country.
L&G Modular Homes & Ilke
L&GMH have announced that it would cease production at its Sherburn operation, making the majority of the 475 staff redundant. Council staff were at the forefront of initiatives to team up staff with local employers looking to recruit. Efforts appear to have been successful, and we are optimistic that all of those looking for roles will find something suitable replacements. The modular housebuilder Ilke Homes which is based near junction 47 of the A1 have also very recently gone into administration. We will be offering similar comprehensive support for staffing to be redeployed.
Treadmills Development Update
The new Everyman cinema is now open and the main public square completed. At the end of July, a major piece of public art will be installed at the Treadmills development, one of the final finishing touches to this eight-year redevelopment project.
‘The ballad of Sophia’ is an eight-foot steel fabricated sculpture depicting the youngest female inmate ever incarcerated in Northallerton’s former prison. World renowned Durham based steel sculpture artist, Ray Lonsdale was commissioned to produce the statue which will be a focal point for the development and will be visible from town’s High Street.
Warm Welcome at the Northallerton BID Breakfast Meeting
Last month I accepted an invitation to present to the Northallerton BID, who are currently part way through their second 5-year term. With good attendance from BID members and the Town Council those present were keen to hear about future plans and ways of working following the transition to North Yorkshire Council. I outlined the ambitions of the new Council, including the importance of local place and the emerging vision of the North Yorkshire Economic Growth Strategy currently being developed. Good questions were raised, and a healthy positive conversation followed the presentation around partnership working through the local Town Team. This was a great opportunity to engage with the businesses of Northallerton. I’m also delighted that the recent Harrogate BID ballot was successful with a 76% yes vote.
Catterick Garrison Town Centre Levelling Up Fund project
The project is progressing well. Stage 2 designs and costings have been signed off. Stage 3 design work is now focusing on the Community Engagement Centre, Public Realm and Accessibility/Connectivity. Pre-application designs have been submitted to Planning with the planning application expected to follow in August 2023. Request for Information for building contractors have been launched through 2 frameworks. Heads of terms for the Land Transfer between North Yorkshire Council (NYC) and the MOD/DIO is proceeding as expected with expected completion Oct 23. There are also a series of further public engagement serials taking place W/C 3rd July in and around the Garrison area culminating in an all-day stand at Tesco on the 7th July. The Project is expected to complete June 2025.
Scarborough and Whitby Town Deals
Work continues to progress both the Whitby and Scarborough Town Deal programmes. The Scarborough Cricket Club improvement project is on schedule for completion in June allowing the club to continue to host first class cricket at the ground. In Whitby proposals for the renovation and improvements to the Old Town Hall and Market Place have now been submitted to the planning authority for determination later this summer.
Pop Up Friday Markets in Scarborough
This Shared Prosperity Fund project has been running fortnightly since April. The outdoor markets are bringing together new creatives and makers whilst showcasing local musicians, and offering family friendly arts activities. To date the pop ups have showcased over 44 different artists and are attracting around 1100 visitors every Friday. The event has attracted a further increase of 10% footfall to the Inside Market.
Northallerton Heritage Trail – launched Easter
This is a brand-new augmented reality free app, taking you on a journey to discover more about the heritage of Northallerton. As you step into portals to the past you will uncover hidden stories, fascinating people, places, and events that have shaped the historic town of Northallerton through the centuries.
Northallerton Food Festival
June saw the much anticipated and welcome return of the award-winning and hugely successful Northallerton Homegrown Food Festival. Now in its 9th year the fun, free and family-friendly event attracted a huge crowd and provided a showcase for artisan food and drink manufacturers from across the region. It is estimated that over 5000 people attended the event throughout the day with over 40 market stalls selling locally produced food and drink ranging from Syrian street food to gourmet scotch eggs from firm festival favourite The Clucking Pig.
Church Fenton Creative Industries Hub
Church Fenton Aerodrome near Sherburn in Elmet was recently granted planning permission for a Film & creative industries hub involving 3 new film studios plus 160,000 sq. ft. of new floor space for film related ancillary businesses. The site expects to employ 1800 people and add £0.94bn to the GVA of the region over 10 years. The site is already being dubbed “the Hollywood of the North”.
Sherburn 2 Employment site
Glentrool Developments have submitted a detailed planning application for Sherburn 2 featuring units covering a range of sizes from 2850 sq. Ft. to 48330 sq. Ft. including some much-needed small units, Construction is expected to start in Q1 2024.
Selby and Tadcaster - Changing Places toilets for disabled users
The former Selby District Council secured £90,000 to improve accessibility in the district through the installation of two of these facilities. They offer larger accessible toilets for people who cannot use standard accessible toilets, with equipment such as hoists, curtains, adult-sized changing benches, and spaces for carers. The funding is from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) plus match from NYC. The locations of the Changing Places facilities are Tadcaster Bus Station and at Selby Park. Both Changing Places designs have now been approved by Muscular Dystrophy and both facilities will be completed in March 2024.
Tourism Marketing Campaigns
Whilst the new North Yorkshire Destination Management Plan is being developed Shared Prosperity Fund funding has been secured to: carry out a digital marketing campaign that will take place throughout early summer; new photography and film footage is being taken to showcase the diversity of the tourism offer to key target markets in London and the South. The digital campaigns are running across Chronical Live, Yorkshire Live and My London digital channels. The campaign has already exceeded expectations with over 3,000 click through’s to the No Place Like North Yorkshire website in the first three weeks.
The NYC Tourism team will also be promoting the County along with some of our private sector members at the Yorkshire Show 11-14 July. The stand will promote the diversity of the county promoting towns, cities, rural and coastal aspects. Interactive displays and competitions will be on offer on the stand for visitors to enjoy.
Whitby Fish and Ships Festival
The Whitby Fish and Ships Festival was held over the weekend of 20- 21st May. The event was attended by approximately 15,000 visitors over the two days. Of those who attended 30% were local, and 26% were visitors from within a 40 mile radius. 13% were from Yorkshire and 31% were from other English regions. 36% of respondents, who were predominantly 31-45, were staying in Whitby overnight with 33% staying for 1 week or more. The event was positively received with 80% confirming they would return to Whitby again as a result of the event.
Dovecote Barns
https://www.dovecotebarnsyork.co.uk/ - won the Silver Award at the Visit England Awards for Excellence in the Self-Catering accommodation category last week. The awards were at the Harry Potter studios, and they were the ONLY Yorkshire business in the whole of the awards (all 16 categories).
PLANNING
A new leadership structure for the Planning Service is being progressed following the bringing together of resources from the legacy district, borough and county councils.
The creation of a new Planning Service for North Yorkshire is an exciting opportunity for us to bring together an efficient, highly performing and ambitious approach to the whole of the planning function, with quality of place and delivery at its core.
Staff consultation on the new leadership structure is underway and implementation is scheduled for early September.
Development Management & Enforcement
Every Constituency Area Planning Committee has now met along with the Strategic Committee. They have been dealing with a range of important items including housing sites, proposals relating to storage and distribution and changes to important historic buildings. In addition to committee, planning applications are being successfully submitted and decided under the approved scheme of delegation.
Recruitment & Retention
The Planning Service presents some challenges in terms of recruitment & retention which officers are working to address. More specifically the service has a relatively high vacancy rate and a dependency on agency staff. An exercise has been undertaken to ensure that the resources we do have are fully utilised by exploring the opportunities to work across the new geography. Working with our Resourcing Solutions team an innovative and exciting recruitment campaign was launched on 21st June 2023. The campaign makes full use of social media and online platforms.
Planning Policy and Strategy
Work is progressing on a new Local Plan for North Yorkshire. The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) and the Local Development Scheme (LDS) are the first stages on the road to preparing and adopting a new local plan for North Yorkshire.
Officers are bringing together a detailed work programme to support plan preparation as well as undertaking scoping events with key partners to start to bring together the priorities and to identify the evidence that will be needed to shape the new local plan. Key themes such as sustainable economic and housing growth, health, climate change and transport will be integral. Officers are also preparing an engagement strategy to ensure early and regular input from Councillors throughout the preparation of the new local plan.
Alongside work on the new local plan, officers are bringing together information on all strategic sites across North Yorkshire, including sites that are allocated within current adopted local plans. It is important that these sites are delivered in order to meet the housing and employment needs of North Yorkshire. These are often complex schemes and the council has an important role in influencing their delivery, including quality of place and coordination of infrastructure.
Strategic Sites
We are presently working on several strategic applications summarised briefly below:-
Scotland to England Green Link 2 (SEGL2)
The Scotland to England Green Link 2 English Onshore Scheme is sited adjacent to Drax Power Station and would be a satellite development, not forming part of the power station site itself, but within an adjacent agricultural field. Outline planning permission is sought for a convertor station. Full planning permission is also sought for an underground cable up to the East Riding boundary. A separate planning permission has been granted for the continuation of the underground cable within the East Riding area.
Gascoigne Wood Rail Freight Interchange
Gascoigne Wood is a former colliery site to the south-east of Sherburn-in-Elmet. We currently have a proposal for the demolition of existing colliery buildings and the construction of up to 1,460,000 sq ft of employment floorspace comprising Use Classes B2, B8 and E(g).
Former Kellingley Colliery Site (Konect)
Kellingley Colliery is a former mine site in the South East of the former Selby area. Outline planning permission was first granted in February 2019 for the construction of an employment park - first reserved matters application was granted in March 2021 for the construction of three units. These have since been constructed. Second reserved matters application was granted in May 2022. These are currently under construction. We currently have an application in to amend the second reserved matters application. Submissions of further applications are expected Summer 2023.
Motorway Service Station
Planning application 2019/0547/EIA for a new motorway service station at the junction of the A1M/A63 Lumby was presented to the Selby District Council Planning Committee recommended for refusal primarily on Green Belt policy grounds. The application is being finalised and it is aimed to bring it before the August meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee. Once a decision has been made, the application was need to be referred to the Secretary of State as a Departure.
Catterick Town Centre LUF
Pre-application advice has commenced between the Council and Align Property Partners acting as architects for the LUF Project at Shute Road on Catterick Garrison. The £19m funding is to be used to reinvigorate the old Garrison town centre by clearing vacant property, improving the surrounding Coronation Park and introducing enhanced routes for pedestrians and cyclists to improve access to and from the new town centre with its range of modern facilities. The aim is to submit a planning application in August 2023 with a start on site spring 2024.
Catterick Integrated Care Campus (CICC)
Planning Committee approved the development of the new Catterick Integrated Care Campus, a joint MoD/NHS project designed to enhance the range of health and social care services for Catterick Garrison and wider former Richmondshire area. The CICC is the first of its kind, a truly transformational scheme between the MOD and NHS to cater for a rebasing of trained and untrained MOD personnel and their dependents, as well as the expected growth in the general population, to provide the necessary medical and dental facilities. Ministerial backing has been given for a collaborative project between the two government departments.
Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs)
In North Yorkshire these are currently all energy related projects apart from the A66 dualling scheme.
Current Projects under consideration are:
· Trans Pennine A66 dualling – the examination has ended, and the Council position remains largely supportive however there are detailed design and environmental impacts still to be finalised.
· Drax Bio Energy and Carbon Capture – the Examination will complete mid-July. We are still in discussion about noise and landscape impacts.
· Yorkshire Green Enablement Project – This will increase capacity of overhead lines between York and Selby. The examination is underway on this project too.
· Helios Solar Farm to the NE of the DRAX power station – This includes battery storage facilities and is proposed to connect to the National Grid.
· Boom Power – East Riding Solar Farm – situated outside North Yorkshire but will be connected via underground cable to the National Grid at DRAX.
· Humber Low Carbon Pipeline Project – this is the installation of a carbon capture pipeline to carry carbon away from DRAX and other facilities to store under the North Sea.
Harbour Executive
The first meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Harbour Executive took place on 14 June 2023 preceded by a harbours familiarisation session to ensure a common understanding across the range of services involved in harbour operations. The Harbour Executive will meet on a quarterly basis to discuss operational issues and receive updates from the Harbour Master. The group underpins both the Council’s commitment to the Governments Ports Governance Guidelines and to the Port Marine Safety Code, with Duty Holder Karl Battersby acting as Chair.
Repairs to Scarborough Lighthouse
Repairs to the roof and lamp room at Scarborough Lighthouse are now well underway and will be completed in the coming weeks. The historic structure continues to act as an important Aid to Navigation for vessels utilising the harbour as well as hosting Scarborough Yacht Club and acting as a key focal point on the Scarborough skyline.
York and North Yorkshire LEP
The York and North Yorkshire LEP continues to deliver on its programmes as it transitions towards the planned Mayoral Combined Authority. In particular –
· The £2.3m Skills Bootcamps programme which offers free courses upto 16 weeks are now contracted and operational.
· York and North Yorkshire has delivered 12 inward investments into the region over the last year securing over 370 new jobs.
The LEP Annual report detailing its performance over the last year was published on 30 June and I would recommend it to all members to understand the impact the LEP has had on the region.
COUNCILLOR DEREK J BASTIMAN