North Yorkshire Council
Executive
6 May 2025
Town Investment Plans – Accept Funding
Report of the Corporate Director of Community Development
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To recommend that the Executive authorises the acceptance of the grant funding of up to £1.2million from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to support the costs of developing tailored investment plans for towns and key service centres across North Yorkshire.
2.0 SUMMARY
2.1 This report provides an overview of the Town Investment Plan programme and considers the financial and other implications of accepting funding from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA).
3.0 BACKGROUND
3.1 On 22 January 2025, the Assistant Director of Resources (Community Development), in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and Resources and the Executive Member for Open to Business, approved the submission of a grant application for £1.2 million from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA) to support the development of investment plans for towns and key service centres across North Yorkshire.
3.2 The signed application was submitted to the YNYCA on 24 March 2025. While the YNYCA has referred the application for appraisal, discussions are underway to finalise a multi-project Grant Funding Agreement (GFA), which will include this programme. Prior to the GFA being signed, and the Council being able to receive the funding, approval is required from the Executive to accept the offer of grant funding from the YNYCA.
4.0 THE TOWN INVESTMENT PLAN PROGRAMME
4.1 The Town Investment Plan programme will develop tailored investment plans for 32 towns and key service centres across North Yorkshire. These plans will provide a strategic, co-ordinated approach to regeneration and investment at a place-based level. They will help the Council and its partners to understand investment priorities and provide a structured focus for future business cases and investment decisions. The development process will involve significant engagement with key stakeholders, business networks and community organisations to ensure a collaborative approach to identifying the investment needs of each town or key service centre.
4.2 Up to 32 possible towns and service centres have been identified as candidates for investment plans. Together, these areas account for 376,431 residents, or 61.1% of North Yorkshire’s total population. Given North Yorkshire’s sizeable geographic area and diverse range of urban, rural, and coastal places, these towns and service centres play a crucial role in connecting otherwise isolated communities. They drive the county’s economic growth and provide homes, jobs, services, retail and leisure amenities, cultural offerings, and focal points for civic life for residents, workers and visitors.
4.3 While these towns perform similar functions, each is unique in terms of location, size, purpose, history, economic performance, and health inequalities. Despite these differences, they all face challenges from economic, technological, social, and environmental trends. The investment plans will serve as toolkits for shaping the future economic and social regeneration of each town or service centre.
4.4 The depth and scope of the plans will vary to reflect the specific characteristics of each town and service centre, but they will be built around a framework of key themes, including:
· enabling enterprise - opportunities for digital infrastructure, provision of workspace, vitality of town centres with a mix of retail, housing, leisure, and commercial property.
· sustainable settlements – opportunities for enhanced active travel options and infrastructure to improve climate resilience.
· protecting heritage and promoting growth – opportunities for targeted investments to regenerate and enhance cultural and heritage assets, appropriate uses for underused buildings, and enhancements to the public realm to attract a diverse range of visitors and encourage town centre activity.
· resilient and improving social and personal well-being – opportunities to reduce health inequalities and enable healthier lives in stronger, vibrant communities.
The creation of the investment plans will follow a similar model, looking at holistic ways to improve each place. They will diagnose challenges and opportunities by analysing data, consulting stakeholders and local people, and identifying key priorities and projects.
4.5 The investment plans will build on and recognise previous work undertaken through the Local Growth Fund (LGF) and Directors of Development (DoDs). Where recent regeneration strategies, town plans or local action plans developed by community partnerships exist, the investment plans will align with and build on these efforts.
4.6 This programme aims to provide a co-ordinated framework for change, identifying key projects and their interrelations. The investment plans will focus on projects that address local priorities, are achievable, measurable, and deliver tangible economic benefits for the towns and service centres they cover, as well as the broader area.
5.0 CONSULTATION UNDERTAKEN AND RESPONSES
5.1 Development of the Town Investment Plan programme has involved consultation with the Management Board (3 December 2024), the Cabinet (14 January 2025), and the Heads of Services for the various teams that will be engaged in delivering the programme.
5.2 All Councillors were invited to a briefing on the approach to developing town investment plans during the cycle of informal Area Committee sessions held in February/March 2025, in preparation for their respective meetings with the YNYCA.
6.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
6.1 The programme aligns with the “Thriving Places and Empowered Communities” ambitions outlined in the North Yorkshire Council Plan (2025–2029). It addresses the Council’s priority action to support our places by identifying future investment needs and opportunities through the development of clear and prioritised ‘Town Investment Plans’ across North Yorkshire, working proactively with local stakeholders and partners.
6.2 The development of investment plans for our urban centres and market towns is included in the suite of documents necessary to advance the North Yorkshire Economic Growth Strategy (2024–2029). This programme is crucial for attracting investment and fostering economic growth.
7.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
7.1 The alternative options would be to disaggregate the programme or not to undertake it at all, thereby foregoing the creation of town investment plans. The potential consequences of the latter option include limited economic growth, fewer job opportunities, and a decline in the quality of life and community well-being, as our towns and service centres struggle to attract new businesses and investment. Without an investment plan, our towns and service centres may miss out on securing external funding, limiting their ability to finance improvements. A disaggregated approach would inhibit the sharing of resources and best practices across the county, creating inequity between communities and their opportunities to attract funding and investment.
7.2 Overall, the absence of this programme and the resulting town investment plans could hinder the sustainable development and revitalisation of communities in North Yorkshire.
8.0 IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES/ORGANISATIONS
8.1 While the programme will be led by the Economic Development, Regeneration, Tourism and Skills (EDRTS) service, assistance from other service teams will be essential, especially the Localities team. The Localities team will support the community engagement and consultation aspects and lead development of investment plans for the smaller, local service centres.
8.2 The programme will involve teams from Culture, Property, Parking, Highways, Local Transport, Public Health, Planning Infrastructure and Delivery, Planning Policy and Place. These teams will advise on connections to existing key strategies, provide data to assess main challenges and opportunities, and offer guidance on the appraisal and prioritisation of project proposals.
8.3 Central and other services such as Communications and Finance will play a supportive role in managing external communications and budget management.
9.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
9.1 The budget available to the Council to develop the programme of investment plans is £1.31million, which includes a grant of £1.2million from the YNYCA and match funding of £110,000 from the Directors of Development (DoDs) Reserve Fund. The Reserve Fund consists of residual funding from the old North Yorkshire Business Rates Pool, intended to enable master planning work in selected towns across North Yorkshire.
9.2 While the budget will be used to commission specialist, professional support where the capacity and skills are not available within the Council or its Teckal companies, provision has been made to off-set the Council’s costs for developing the investment plans and managing implementation of the programme.
9.3 Should the YNYCA not award the Council the full £1.2million applied for, and offer a reduced amount, the programme will be rescoped to align with the available budget. The focus of any rescope will be on developing investment plans for those towns and key service centres that offer significant opportunity for growth.
9.4 Once completed, there is no obligation on the Council to progress or fund any of the projects contained within the investment plans. Progression of these projects will be appraised and approved in line with the Council’s usual decision-making and financial governance procedures.
10.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
10.1 The Council will be required to enter into a Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) with the YNYCA for the funding. The GFA sets out the requirements that the Council will need to meet in accepting the grant, including the timing of grant payments, monitoring and reporting arrangements.
10.2 All expenditure of the grant funding must comply with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Initial assessment indicates that the subsidy control legalisation will be satisfied. Nevertheless, the Council’s Legal Service will complete a formal assessment as part of the review of the terms and conditions of the GFA.
10.3 Any procurement exercises will be carried-out in accordance with the Council’s Procurement and Contract Rules and relevant procurement legalisation. In-line with feedback from the Management Board and the Cabinet, the aim of the procurement strategy is to recruit consultancy support where the capacity and/or skills are not available within the Council or its Teckal companies. The procurement strategy will be managed through the programme’s governance, with any procurement exercise requiring approval from the Programme Board.
11.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
11.1 An equalities impact screening has been conducted and concluded that there is no adverse equalities impact from the recommended decision. See Appendix A.
12.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
12.1 Sustainability will be a cross-cutting theme in the programme. There is not expected to be a significant impact on climate change due to the decision to accept the offer of grant funding from the YNYCA. All projects that are identified as part of the development of the investment plans will be required to undergo an environmental impact screening assessment as part of the prioritisation process. See Appendix B.
13.0 RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
13.1 The key risks associated with the programme are categorised into three areas: contractual, professional, and stakeholder engagement. Each is summarised below with key mitigation measures:
Contractual - These issues involve delays by contractors and cost overruns. Mitigation includes effective management by the Programme Board. Cost overruns, identified as a high inherent risk, will be managed through detailed work specifications, competitive procurement, and fixed-price contracts.
Professional - These issues pertain to the capacity and skills of the staff delivering the project. A multi-disciplinary team from various Council services will ensure robust delivery. Additionally, the Council has processes to procure short-term expertise if needed.
Stakeholder Engagement - This issue concerns the lack of buy-in from local stakeholders, businesses, and residents. Extensive engagement and consultation are included in the programme to minimise this risk, along with capacity building to identify resources and funding opportunities. There is also a risk regarding stakeholder expectations about the scope and timescales of the programme.
13.2 The programme will adhere to project management principles and report to a Programme Board, which chaired by the Corporate Director of Community Development will scrutinise the process. This approach will ensure timely delivery and cost minimisation. In the event of unforeseen cost increases, a range of options will be explored to ensure programme delivery is within budget.
13.3 Risk assessment will be ongoing throughout the programme period. An overarching risk register will be produced, monitored, and reviewed by the Programme Board. At key programme milestones, such as the completion of work specifications or the award of a contract, the risk register will be reviewed and reassessed to ensure it remains valid
14.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
14.1 The recommendation will secure the external funding needed to deliver a priority action in the North Yorkshire Council Plan (2025 – 2029) to lead work to develop clear and prioritised ‘Town Investment Plans’ for towns and key service centres across North Yorkshire.
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15.0 |
RECOMMENDATIONS
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i) That the Executive authorises the acceptance of grant funding of up to £1.2million from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to support the costs of developing investment plans for towns and key service centres across North Yorkshire.
ii) That the Corporate Director of Community Development in consultation with the Assistant Director of Resources (Community Development) and the Assistant Chief Executive for Legal and Democratic are granted delegated authority to agree and enter into the final terms of the grant agreement with the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – Equalities Impact Assessment
Appendix B – Climate Change Impact Assessment
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
North Yorkshire Council Plan (2025 – 2029)
North Yorkshire Economic Growth Strategy (2024 – 2029)
Funding Application to the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
Nic Harne
Corporate Director – Community Development
County Hall
Northallerton
23 April 2025
Report Author – Sharon Sunter, Principal Regeneration Officer (Skipton and Ripon)
Presenter of Report – Kathryn Daly, Assistant Director of Economic Development, Regeneration, Tourism and Skills (EDRTS)
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.