North Yorkshire Council

Thirsk and Malton Area Committee

10am on 27 March 2026

 

Update

 

1.      Yorkshire Water

At the meeting held on 5 December, Members discussed concerns about Yorkshire Water.

 

The focus was the use of Grampian Conditions on recent planning applications in the committee area, due to the wastewater, sewerage and associated Yorkshire Water (YW) infrastructure limitations.

 

Members raised concerns with YW performance in general and thought that the Chief Executive (CX) had been holding meetings with YW. They wondered if the CX had any update for the committee.

 

Response from CX

As a Council we are concerned about this issue and therefore consequently I wrote to Yorkshire Water Chief Executive Nicola Shaw raising it. I subsequently meet with Nicola Shaw to discuss this issue along with a couple of other issues.

 

I reiterated the Council’s concern that Yorkshire Water needed to ensure that their investment plans and the upgrading of their facilities was in line with our local plan. The follow up action was for Linda Marfitt from our Forward Plan Team to have a more detailed discussions with the appropriate individuals within Yorkshire Water and they will no doubt be arranged in the near future.

 

Response from Linda McKenzie (formerly Marfitt), Head of Planning Policy and Place

 

I met with Steph Pullan, Director of Asset Management at Yorkshire Water on 4 February.  I provided an update on the preparation of the North Yorkshire Local Plan and highlighted the importance of close engagement between both organisations as the plan progresses.

 

We discussed that a key opportunity will be through the upcoming work on infrastructure capacity (being undertaken jointly with the Combined Authority, City of York Council and the National Parks) as well as more detailed work when potential sites are identified.  We also discussed the need for and benefits of ensuring that infrastructure to support future growth is factored into the Yorkshire Water investment pipeline alongside the local plan. There are commitment and willingness to continue engagement as the plan develops.

 

2.      Quiet lanes

At the meeting held on 5 December, Members requested that an officer from the Transport Planning Team be invited to a meeting to advise on quiet lanes and possible sites.

 

Response - Keisha Moore, Senior Transport Planning Officer advised that the quiet lanes protocol will be reviewed following the recent adoption of the Speed Management Strategy (SMS). As part of the SMS, a programme speed limit reviews will be carried out over approximately five years, ultimately covering all roads in the county.

 

The SMS could support the delivery of Quiet Lanes, as a reduction in speed limits is likely to make certain roads eligible, however, the Quiet Lanes protocol itself needs to be reviewed in the current context, as it has not been updated since it was first adopted 15-20 years ago. Officers are reviewing the current position and will offer feedback in due course.

 

3.      Request for written updates from the mayor’s office

A request from Thirsk and Malton area Committee was sent to the mayor’s office on 12 December 2025. A response has not yet been received.

 

A similar request was made by another Area Committee who was advised that the mayor’s office believed this may be a good idea but did not have the capacity at the time to action the request. However, they stated that they would liaise with their communications team.

 

Appendix A has been prepared by the support officer and includes links to matters considered at various meetings of the CA and to news items that may be of local interest.

 

Members may wish to receive a similar update at each meeting of the Area Committee.

 

Appendix B is the summary that the Mayor provides to the CA Scrutiny Committee at each quarterly meeting.

 

4.      Data on other GP surgeries

At the meeting of the Committee held on 5 December 2025, Members received a briefing note on GP surgeries within the committee area.

 

After consideration of the information, Members requested similar information on other GP surgeries adjacent to the committee area.

 

The information below has been collated via an online search and has not been verified.

 

Practice

Patients

GPs

Haxby Group – Haxby & Wigginton, Huntington, Gale Farm – Acomb, New Earswick, Upper Poppleton surgeries

32,587

17 FT & 17 PT (across 5 surgeries in the group)

Topcliffe, Thirsk

3,723

1 FT & 2 PT

Mayford House, Malpas Road, Northallerton

9,633

8 PT

Church Lane Surgery (inc Helperby branch)

10,225

12 PT

MyHealth surgery (Stamford Bridge, Strensall, Huntington and Dunnington)

19,294

6 FT & 9 PT

 

 

 

5.      Recommendation

 

That the updates be noted.

 

 

Report author – Nicki Lishman, Senior Democratic Services Officer