CURRENT RISKS TO DELIVERY OF THE NORTH YORKSHIRE LOCAL PLAN

Current Key Risks	Action/Mitigation
Significant current reliance on manual tracking of what is a very extensive project plan presents issues with accurately monitoring performance and risks	The project management arrangements for the local plan are now even more critical given the complexity of the project and the regular public reporting that will be required as part of the new system.  A new council project management system has been introduced, and early discussions have taken place to determine if this software can be utilised for project managing the local plan. In the meantime, officers are working to use what resources we have to ensure that we can effectively project plan the Local Plan and factor in other policy work.
The efficient use of systems/technology to support efficient plan making	There will need to be a much more effective use of technology to streamline plan making and to make the process more accessible to our customers, particularly in relation to GIS resource.  Discussions are underway to ensure the use of GIS is maximised .
Decision making process	The length of the decision-making process and associated sign off and lead in times takes up a significant element of the timescale set out by government, reducing the time for plan making.  This issue becomes more acute towards the latter stages of plan preparation. It will be important, where possible, to use delegated authority for some of the monthly recurring and administrative tasks.
The scale of evidence base requirements due to increased level of housing growth	Procurement pipeline established, budget in place and work is well underway. However, limited opportunity to reduce scope of evidence within the new system because it will be needed to defend the council’s position at examination.  The scale and complexity of our plan mean that this risk will need to be carefully monitored.  The key goal is a sound local plan, so we need to ensure we strike that balance.
Delays in commissioning evidence due to joint working with the MCA	Important to ensure we influence the Spatial Development Strategy, and the most effective way is through proactive joint working with the other local authorities.  We have led the creation of a working group and a collaborative working agreement prior to the commission of a growth potential study, infrastructure capacity study, green belt review and strategic flood risk assessment.  Whilst this is slowing down evidence work for the local plan initially, it is considered that this approach will help to mitigate the risk of conflicting evidence later in the process. The collaborative working agreement has been signed and commissioning of this evidence is imminent.
Transport evidence is behind target timescales	In house strategic transport resource in place and good progress is being made to help scope out the strategic transport vision that will determine the level of detailed evidence needed to support the plan.   A Transport Working Group has been established to facilitate cross departmental collaboration and understanding to build momentum with this work.
Timing of local elections (May 2027)	The timing of the elections brings political uncertainty.  Officers are working closely with democratic and legal services  to ensure member training for any new members following the elections is prioritised.
Officer resource/capacity to maintain a proactive and influential role in work with the MCA	Important to make this work a priority but resource is being squeezed.  Need to monitor and consider whether additional resource is needed.  A new planning manager has been appointed at the MCA to help drive forward this work.
Corporate resource (outside of Planning Policy team) to support the local plan	In particular, comms, legal, procurement, transport. Ongoing discussions are in progress but need to ensure appropriate capacity/resourcing.  New governance arrangements have been implemented to oversee cross council working.
Financial resource to support the local plan making requirements	A local plan reserve is in place which is closely monitored and is currently sufficient.
Review of the Minerals and Waste Local Plan will need to meet the same requirements as the North Yorkshire Local Plan and will need to be prepared at the same time	It’s likely that in concurrent preparation we can ensure that both plans, respecting their different scopes can have a shared evidence base, which is a benefit in terms of resources and plan evidence and general plan alignment. It will result in the team going into new areas of work, and there is also a need to ensure that the key stages of the plans consultations are carefully considered to reduce any confusion. A JMWP working group will be set up to progress the plan- and it is expected that the same decision-making process will be applied to both plans.
Level of consultation responses is unknown but expected to be high when consultation on draft policies and sites take place	Whilst this has always been a risk for all local plan preparation, it is more important now due to the setting of required reporting timescales in the regulations. We are anticipating and already planning for dealing with a high level of consultation responses by investigating the use of AI, ensuring the team is trained in the use of the consultation software Objective and having a dedicated engagement officer group to lead the task. Careful consideration will be given to how consultation questions are asked in any consultation document to allow the most efficient analysis of responses.