North Yorkshire Council

16 June 2026

Application to York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority for High Streets Funding Grant – Tourism Sector Support

Report of the Assistant Director Place Shaping and Growth

1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.1       That the Corporate Director Community Development in consultation with the Assistant Director Resources authorises a funding grant application for the sum of £260,000 to be spent over 2 years to the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority for support towards the tourism sector.

2.0       SUMMARY

2.1       This report seeks permission to apply to the Y&NYCA for High Streets Funding of £260k.  The application will focus on two deliverable initiatives, support for the County’s food and drink sector, and a grant fund to support small events development, as set out in paragraph 3 below.

3.0       BACKGROUND

3.1       Strand One – Food & Drink Sector Support – Funding requested £200k over 2 years

3.1.1    2024 STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Model) data for North Yorkshire identified the value of tourism to North Yorkshire at £4.2 billion with the food and drink sector representing 23% of visitor spend.  One of the Y&NY Combined Authority’s Growth Strategy priorities is to increase productivity and innovation within the food and farming sector, and there is room for growth within the visitor economy despite challenging economic factors.  The Food for the Future North Yorkshire (FFTFNY) strategic partnership group (led by NYC Public Health) have developed a framework to help position the food and drink strand to support a wider food system (health, sustainability, local economy), and we will be utilising this funding to principally support promotional elements of this activity whilst also supporting wider activity.

3.1.2    In addition to the welcome funding already received to support Food Hygiene and Safety L2 and Food Allergen Awareness certification for hospitality businesses, we would like to support this sector via a range of further measures, including:

· A high-profile marketing campaign promoting the food and drink sector producers across North Yorkshire and the places/communities they represent

· An industry support package to engage the sector with the Visit North Yorkshire brand, website and associated business support activity of the team and Y&NY Growth Hub

· A programme of place/sector-based storytelling activity

We believe the above measures will help meet the needs of the F&D sector and align with the objectives of the Vibrant and Sustainable High Streets Fund.

3.2       Strand Two - Events Development Support – Funding requested £60k over two years

3.2.1    Through consultation work with key tourism stakeholders across North Yorkshire, a clear need for the continued support and development of town centre events has been made apparent.  This work underpins the development of a new North Yorkshire Council’s Corporate Events Strategy which aligns to the region’s Destination Management Plan – to encourage and support sustainable events across our communities and high streets. 

3.2.2    We propose to seek £60k to offer a mechanism for a small grant delivery fund, capped at £1000 per event, to provide support for event costs surrounding venue hire, administration costs, Marketing & Promotion training and wider NYC event management liaison, i.e. Safety Advisory Group and statutory services.

4.0       CONSULTATION UNDERTAKEN AND RESPONSES

4.1       The Visit North Yorkshire Tourism Advisory Group (an NYC led Destination Management Plan stakeholder group) have been consulted and reactively positivity towards the funding bid for these two sectors of the visitor economy.  Additional consultation has been sought via the Food for the Future Delivery Team in NYC Public Health who are supportive of the collaborative effort to deliver quality outcomes against the FFTF Framework around promoting high quality, sustainable and local food and drink suppliers.  The Executive Member for Open to Business has been updated on the proposals and is supportive of the application being submitted.

5.0       CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES

5.1       The focus of these tourism sector support initiatives contributes towards the four key priorities in the Council’s Plan (2026-2030), including:

· support thriving places and empowered communities where people live, work, visit and do business across North Yorkshire

· develop more sustainable and connected places across North Yorkshire

· ensure the people of North Yorkshire are safe, healthy and living well

· maximise the potential of North Yorkshire’s people and communities

5.2       The support the Council will be able to provide to businesses and communities as a result of this grant fund is well placed to support a wide range of objectives within each of the above four priorities, we regard this opportunity as a welcome boost for the tourism sector. The two initiatives around support for Food & Drink and Events Development support the adopted Destination Management Plan (2024-34) and the emerging Events Strategy activity.

6.0       ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

6.1       Not to submit a funding application – this option was dismissed as it would be a missed opportunity to secure funding to support these important economic sectors in North Yorkshire.

7.0       IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES/ORGANISATIONS

7.1       No impacts on other services/organisations have been identified.

8.0       FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

8.1       The grant application is for £260k revenue funding over 2 years. If the grant is accepted, there are no match funding requirements. It is not anticipated that there will be future financial liabilities arising from the work associated with the grant, the relationships and support networks formed will continue to be managed within the existing Tourism & Skills budget. If the application is successful, a further report will be brought forward to accept the grant in line with the Councils financial governance processes.

9.0       LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

9.1       Advice has been sought from legal colleagues with regards to the use of subsidy control measurement and the grant scheme that the small events development fund will be looking to achieve.

10.0     EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

10.1     No such implications have been identified.

11.0     CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

11.1     The funding on offer will support wider NYC objectives around supporting local businesses, sustainable supply chains and in particular, lower food miles via the F&D sector support promotion.

12.0     PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

12.1     No such implications have been identified.

13.0     RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

13.1     Risk management matrix has been factored into the delivery of the grant funding objectives if successful, the projects will be managed and delivered within the current tourism team structure.

14.0     HUMAN RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS

14.1     No such implications have been identified; programme delivery will be managed by the current tourism team without further HR resources required.

15.0     REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

15.1     This application for grant funding from the YNYCA presents an opportunity to strengthen two vital sectors within the visitor economy, and support the objectives of the Council Plan, Destination Management Plan, Events Strategy, and the objectives of the YNYCA’s Vibrant Sustainable High Streets fund.

16.0	RECOMMENDATION
	i) That the Corporate Director Community Development in consultation with the Assistant Director Resources authorises the application of the High Streets grant in the sum of £260,000 from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Kathryn Daly

Assistant Director Place Shaping and Growth

County Hall

Northallerton

16 June 2026

Report Author – Craig Nattress – Place Development Manager