Initial Climate Change Impact Assessment

The intention of this document is to help the council to gain an initial understanding of the impact of a project or decision on the environment. This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. Dependent on this initial assessment you may need to go on to complete a full Climate Change Impact Assessment. The final document will be published as part of the decision-making process.

If you have any additional queries, which are not covered by the guidance please email climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk

Title of proposal	Submission of North Yorkshire Council’s response to the national consultation on proposed Mayoral powers to introduce a visitor levy.
Brief description of proposal	The proposal is for North Yorkshire Council to formally submit a response to the Government’s consultation on introducing Mayoral powers to apply a visitor levy on overnight stays. This assessment relates only to the decision to submit the consultation response. No operational, financial, or policy implementation decisions are being taken at this stage. The act of responding has no direct climate impact. However, the Council’s response encourages national policymakers to consider potential climate implications carefully when designing any future legislation, including risks of increased day visitor travel and opportunities to support sustainable tourism.‑visitor travel and opportunities to support sustainable tourism.
Directorate	Community Development
Service area	Economy and Tourism
Lead officer	Tony Watson
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	N/A

The chart below contains the main environmental factors to consider in your initial assessment – choose the appropriate option from the drop-down list for each one.

Remember to think about the following;

· Travel

· Construction

· Data storage

· Use of buildings

· Change of land use

· Opportunities for recycling and reuse

Environmental factor to consider	For the council	For the county	Overall
Greenhouse gas emissions	No effect on emissions	No Effect on emissions	No effect on emissions
Waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste
Water use	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage
Pollution (air, land, water, noise, light)	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution
Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc)	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience
Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc)	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology
Heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape

If any of these factors are likely to result in a negative or positive environmental impact then a full climate change impact assessment will be required. It is important that we capture information about both positive and negative impacts to aid the council in calculating its carbon footprint and environmental impact.

Decision (Please tick one option)	Full CCIA not relevant or proportionate:	X	Continue to full CCIA:
Reason for decision	This decision relates solely to submitting North Yorkshire Council’s response to the Government’s consultation on proposed Mayoral powers to introduce a visitor levy. No operational change, policy implementation, procurement, construction, or service redesign is being approved at this stage; therefore there is no direct climate or environmental impact arising from this decision. The Council’s response nonetheless encourages national legislators and the Combined Authority to consider climate implications carefully in any future legislation or implementation, including: avoiding unintended displacement from overnight stays to higher‑carbon day visits; and using any potential levy revenues (if introduced in future) to support sustainable transport, low‑carbon visitor infrastructure, and responsible tourism. Given the absence of immediate impacts and the commitment to consider climate issues in future policy design, a full CCIA is not proportionate at this stage.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	K.Daly - Assistant Director Place-shaping & Growth
Date	08/02/2026