NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNCIL

20 May 2026

STATEMENT OF EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR OPEN TO BUSINESS

Economic Development, Regeneration, Tourism & Skills

Economy

Business North Yorkshire continues to provide proactive support to existing and prospective businesses across the county. Its new Business Advisory Group met for the first time in April, bringing together industry voices from across North Yorkshire to help shape how the Council supports economic growth. In the coming weeks, the launch of the new Business North Yorkshire website and LinkedIn pages will bring business support information into a single, accessible place and improve how businesses are signposted to help and advise.

Regeneration

Town Investment Plans

We are now over a third of the way through the Town Investment Plan (TIP) programme and the development of the plans are going well with 27 out of the 32 towns now in progress. Over a third have completed the initial stakeholder and community engagement and are using the results, together with evidence gathered, to create town visions and prioritise projects and activities that will help our communities thrive.  Early delivery of some TIP projects is set to begin this year through the YNYCA Local Authority High Street Fund and Vibrant and Sustainable High Street Funding.  Regeneration officers are also working with Property colleagues to engage a delivery partner to bring the development of vacant and underused sites forward in Scarborough and develop an urban design strategy that will improve the town centre. 

Pride in Place

Scarborough’s Pride in Place (PiP) programme received a ‘strong’ approval this month from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) paving the way for funding to be released.  Using the results of community engagement work and technical checks provided by the Council, the Neighbourhood Board selected seven projects that will be delivered in Scarborough over the next four years.  These projects focus on the regeneration of the high street, environmental improvements and community health and wellbeing.  The projects will be presented to Executive committee later in May for NYC approval, as the accountable body.

Scarborough and Whitby Town Deal projects

Two projects in Whitby will reach significant milestones before the summer.  The main works contract for the Maritime Hub in Whitby is nearing completion, after which fitout will start for tenants; and the final restoration of the Old Town Hall will be complete by the end of May.  Residents of Whitby will also be asked to comment on plans to improve the area around the Swing Bridge in early summer.  

In Scarborough, work is continuing on the Cinder Track Junctions project, with surface improvements, better signage and environmental work all underway.  The Station Gateway project will also reach a milestone, with the final designs expected to go before the planning committee next month.  And finally, Towns Deal money has been used to deliver some digital skills workshops for residents through the Adult Skills service.

High Street Rental Auction Pilot

Consultation on the High Street Rental Auction Pilot for Scarborough will be launched shortly. The pilot uses new powers to compel property owners to bring long term vacant buildings back to a lettable standard.  The programme is part of the Sprucing Up Scarborough programme which will also fund town centre improvements through Pride in Place.

Selby Regeneration
Improvements to Selby Market Place will be completed this month to improve facilities for the market and other events.  Just across the road, repairs and maintenance of the park is underway, ahead of a refresh of the area.  Design work for improvements around the station continues to progress.

Catterick Garrison LUF

The project to create a new multi-use centre and improvements to the park are progressing well.  The steel work for the building is complete, and the project is on track to finish early 2027.  Artists have been working with the community to create pieces that celebrate stories and people from the area.

Skipton Regeneration

Several projects have made good progress over the last few months. Following installation in December 2025 of the new Gallows Bridge deck and improvement of the stepped accesses, discussions are underway regarding Phase 2 of the area’s improvements. The designs have also been completed for Leeds Liverpool Canal Public Art and Heritage Interpretation Scheme.

Tourism

During the last quarter, the Visit North Yorkshire team has been extremely busy, working to ensure the county’s visitor offer is recognised on the national and international stage. This included a high-profile programme of activity during English Tourism Week, featuring an extensive visit from Lady Victoria Borwick, Chair of VisitEngland, alongside a standout industry event and literature exchange at Bolton Abbey Railway that brought together hundreds of visitor economy businesses. 

As we move into the main tourism season, the team is focused on supporting the sector through events, marketing campaigns and industry initiatives delivered in partnership with the Local Visitor Economy Partnership.

Planning Policy & Place

The government launched a new plan-making system in December 2025. Although work on the North Yorkshire Local Plan is underway, the Council will need to ensure that it is prepared within the new system from the beginning of the process. Officers have carefully considered options for preparing the plan in the new system and will be recommending a preferred timetable to Executive in June.  Work already undertaken will not be wasted and it is intended that, although the stages of plan preparation are different, adoption will still be in 2029 as previously planned. The Local Plan “Call for Sites” process has generated the submission of more than 2000 sites to date, which can be viewed on the Council’s dedicated call for sites webpage.  A further call for sites will take place later this year.

The review of the Minerals and Waste Joint Plan will also need to be reviewed under the new system and in line within the timescales set out by central government.  Officers are currently putting together a recommended timescale, which will also be reported to Executive in due course.

The consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework has closed and we await the publication of the final version.  The government is seeking to introduce a significant number of changes to national planning policy. A comprehensive response has been submitted to the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government.  The government have also introduced a new tier of development plan in addition to Local Plans called Spatial Development Strategies, which will be prepared by Combined Authorities. Officers have begun to work proactively with the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to progress opportunities for joint working on evidence base and a collaborative working agreement has been prepared and signed by all authorities, providing the basis for joint commissioning.

We continue to support the preparation of Neighbourhood Plans. Neighbourhood Plans for Knaresborough and Terrington have been successfully subject to their independent examinations and will be coming to Executive Member in June for their Decision Statements to progress to referendums; this is to allow the groups to update their plans to reflect the modifications recommended by the Examiner. Up and coming submission consultation is expected on Tadcaster and Kirkby Malzeard in the coming months. Bradley Neighbourhood Plan review is now out for its submission consultation.

Harbours

Port & Marine Facilities Safety Code

The statutory harbour authority was able to certify its compliance with the new Port & Marine Facilities Safety Code before the deadline of 31 March 2026. This is an excellent achievement for the harbours team led by Harbour Master Gary Pearson and the work has been independently verified by the Designated Person. A report will be taken to the Scarborough & Whitby Area Committee.

Dredging

The Whitby dredging campaign was temporarily halted due to a clutch failure on the dredger. A repair has now been completed, and the vessel is operational again. The first action has been a short visit to Scarborough to remove a sandbank that appeared in the harbour mouth following recent storms.

Scarborough West Pier Pile Repairs

The works are progressing well and are due to be completed within 1 month.

Harbour Strategy

The public consultation on the draft harbours strategy closed on 22 March and the comments and feedback are now being collated. The final version of the Harbours Strategy will be reported to executive for approval in May.

Whitby Whale Bones

Three quotations are being sought to replace the whalebones with bronze replicas, and it is hoped these will be in place towards the end of the Summer.

COUNCILLOR MARK CRANE