North Yorkshire Council
Richmond Area Committee
29 June 2026
Update to committee on progress of local town investment plans
Report of the Corporate Director Community Development
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To provide an update to the committee on the progress of town investment plans in the local area.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 The North Yorkshire Council Economic Growth Strategy (2024 – 2029), adopted by Full Council on 15th November 2023, included an action “to develop investment plans for the county’s towns and their hinterlands (where these are not already in place) to enable them to drive economic growth and productivity. Where such plans already exist, to refresh and review these plans to ensure they remain fit for the future, are in line with the Local Plan, Local Transport Plan, and other key strategies”.
2.2 Furthermore, the Economic Growth Strategy gives an undertaking that the Council will take “a proactive approach to ensuring these plans come to fruition, working closely with developers and wider partners to address market failures and viability gaps”.
2.3 Town Investment Plans provide a co‑ordinated, place‑based approach to regeneration and investment, helping both the Council and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to identify and prioritise future investment needs. They establish a robust evidence base to inform business cases and funding decisions, while bringing together business networks, community organisations, developers, public sector partners and other stakeholders through proactive engagement and co‑design. The plans are structured around a common framework, focusing on enabling enterprise (including digital infrastructure, workspace and town centre vitality), supporting sustainable settlements (through active travel and climate resilience), protecting heritage while promoting growth (through cultural assets and public realm improvements), and improving social and personal wellbeing (by addressing health inequalities).
3.0 RICHMOND
3.1 Richmond is the first plan to be drafted and launched for public consultation, with the survey live until the 28 June 2026. The plan sets out a clear, long‑term vision for the town’s future, shaped through extensive engagement with residents, businesses and stakeholders. It establishes a framework for investment over the next five to 10 years, with a planned review after five years to ensure it remains responsive to changing local needs and the wider political and funding context. The plan is aligned with national, regional and local strategies and is supported by the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, with funding from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. Richmond’s many strengths, including a strong heritage offer, high-quality natural environment, active community groups and a diverse independent business base, provide a solid foundation for growth, while challenges such as an ageing population, limited transport connectivity, digital constraints and climate resilience needs are clearly recognised.
3.2 Building on this evidence and engagement, the plan sets out a unifying mission of “striving to make Richmond an even better place for all” and identifies a prioritised programme of investable projects. These focus on improving town centre vitality and accessibility, increasing dwell time in the Market Place, strengthening active travel and walking trails, optimising parking, supporting business growth and improving the industrial estate and accelerating action on sustainability and climate adaptation. Community-led priorities include enhanced place marketing and events, expanded cycling facilities, improved town centre vibrancy and the reuse of key heritage assets such as the former Grammar School and Methodist Church as community hubs. Together, these interventions provide a flexible, deliverable programme to guide funding bids, partnerships and investment over the next five to ten years, while maintaining a strong commitment to community involvement in shaping and delivering change.
4.0 NORTHALLERTON
4.1 The Northallerton Town Investment Plan is underpinned by a comprehensive evidence review and stakeholder engagement programme, which together identify a number of key challenges and opportunities. Northallerton is a stable and well-connected market town with strong public services, low crime and good digital infrastructure; however, it faces pressures associated with an ageing population, health and wellbeing inequalities, lower-than-average incomes, skills gaps and a reliance on public sector employment. Environmental challenges are also evident, including limited accessible green space, low tree cover and increasing climate resilience requirements. The town centre faces a range of vitality and connectivity issues, including traffic congestion, severance caused by the railway, limited active travel connectivity and pressures from changing retail patterns. These challenges are compounded by planned housing and employment growth, which is placing additional demands on infrastructure and services, particularly healthcare, education, transport and green space provision.
4.2 Extensive stakeholder engagement, including a public survey with over 600 responses, business engagement, community events and targeted work with young people and older residents, has reinforced these issues. Key concerns include infrastructure not keeping pace with growth, particularly in relation to health services and transport; congestion linked to level crossings; limited evening economy activity; gaps in provision for young people; and challenges relating to accessibility, social isolation and awareness of green space. There is also a strong ambition to better utilise the town’s heritage and strengthen its identity and visitor offer.
4.3 Taken together, the evidence highlights the need for a healthier, greener, more connected and inclusive town, with a more vibrant and resilient town centre. Emerging priorities focus on strengthening economic vitality and business support, enhancing the town centre experience, improving accessibility and inclusion, investing in green infrastructure and active travel, addressing transport and congestion issues, supporting young people and community wellbeing, and making better use of cultural and heritage assets. These themes will inform the development of a clear vision, strategic objectives and a prioritised programme of deliverable projects.
5.0 HAWES
5.1 The Hawes Town Investment Plan process commenced in September 2025, beginning with two community and business engagement events attended by over 40 stakeholders. A public survey remained open until the end of November 2025 and received 45 responses, which, alongside a completed background review and assessment of the strategic context, informed subsequent analysis. This work enabled the identification of a series of emerging projects. Engagement continued through a community drop-in session held on 24 March 2026, followed by internal consultation completed in May 2026.
5.2 A draft Town Investment Plan is currently in preparation and is scheduled for launch in September 2026. Emerging themes from the work include support for local businesses, including re-establishing a business forum, diversifying the retail and hospitality offer, and improving shopfronts to protect the town’s heritage; infrastructure enhancements such as public toilets, pavements, parking, civic spaces, and improved directional signage; measures to maximise tourism opportunities, particularly linked to the proposed Hawes to Garsdale accessible footpath and cycleway, alongside a longer-term strategy to balance visitor pressures with community needs; initiatives focused on youth engagement, including facilities and employment opportunities to help retain younger residents; improvements to parking provision and road safety, including consideration of motorcycle parking, speed limits, signage and enforcement; and the development of a Town Team or Community Partnership to support delivery.
6.0 BEDALE
6.1 The Bedale Town Investment Plan process commenced in February 2026, with three community drop-in events attended by over 20 stakeholders. A public survey remained open until the end of March 2026 and generated 195 responses, providing a robust evidence base to inform the work. This was complemented by a completed background review and assessment of the strategic context. A Steering Group has been established to guide the process and data analysis has been completed. Work is now progressing to develop and prioritise a pipeline of projects, with a draft Town Investment Plan scheduled for completion in March 2027. Emerging themes from the evidence base highlight a number of key challenges and opportunities, including enabling enterprise through addressing declining footfall, limited dwell time and high operating costs, alongside opportunities to strengthen co-ordination of events and improve digital connectivity; delivering a more sustainable settlement by tackling poor and infrequent public transport, gaps in walking and cycling infrastructure, pressures arising from housing growth relative to infrastructure investment, and high energy costs; protecting heritage and supporting growth through addressing the deterioration of the public realm and historic fabric, better utilising underused cultural and environmental assets, strengthening place identity and managing constraints on visitor growth; and enhancing resilience and social wellbeing by addressing gaps in healthcare provision, improving accessibility within the built environment, and supporting an overstretched voluntary sector with limited capacity and co-ordination of activities.
7.0 LEYBURN
7.1 The Leyburn Town Investment Plan process is currently in its early engagement phase, with community consultation running from 1 July to 31 August 2026. This includes two public drop-in events at Thornborough Hall, held on 13 July 2026 (15:30–18:30) and 17 July 2026 (10:00–12:00), alongside targeted school engagement undertaken at the end of June 2026. A background review and assessment of the strategic context are currently in progress and will inform subsequent stages of analysis and project development. The current programme anticipates completion of the Town Investment Plan by July 2027.
8.0 STOKESLEY
8.1 The Stokesley Town Investment Plan process is scheduled to commence community engagement in September/October 2026. In advance of this, officers will attend a meeting of Stokesley Town Council on 14 July 2026 to introduce the Town Investment Plan programme and agree an appropriate approach to community engagement. This early engagement will help shape the scope and direction of the work. The current programme anticipates completion of the Town Investment Plan in October 2027.
9.0 FINANCE UPDATE
9.1 In 2025/26 the Council were able to secure £1.2m in grant funding from York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to progress the Town Investment Plans across the County. The total allocation for the TIP programme is £1.310m, as the Council have committed £0.110m of its reserves.
9.2 Across the whole of the TIP programme there has been £193k spent in 2025/26, with the majority of this being on the programme management and initial development work, not attributable to any specific Area. There has been minimal expenditure within the specific local areas defined in this update. The table (1) below shows an extract of the spend to date, with the current estimated spend for this financial year.
|
|
Outturn |
Forecast
Outturn |
|
|
Richmond |
369 |
- |
|
|
Bedale |
169 |
- |
|
|
Northallerton |
423 |
635 |
|
|
Stokesley |
77 |
- |
|
|
Hawes |
614 |
- |
|
|
Leyburn |
- |
- |
|
|
General/ Other expenditure |
147,931 |
120,984 |
|
|
Total |
149,583 |
121,619 |
|
Table 1. expenditure to date, for the specific areas defined in this report and the overall general programme costs.
Nic Harne
Corporate Director – Community Development
County Hall
Northallerton
29 June 2026
Report Author – Joe Russell
Presenter of Report – Joe Russell
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.