Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence was received from Councillors Andy Brown, Nick Brown and Andrew Williams.

Resolved

That Councillor Richard Foster be appointed Chair of the Area Committee until the meeting following the AGM of the Council in May 2026.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2025 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting of the Skipton and Ripon Area Committee held on 6 March 2025 were considered.

Resolved

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Skipton and Ripon Area Committee held on 6 March 2025 be taken as read and confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Resolved

That Councillor Andy Solloway be appointed Vice-Chair of the Area Committee until

the meeting following the AGM of the Council in May 2026.

All Members are invited to declare at this point any interests they have in items appearing on this agenda, including the nature of those interests.

Members will be aware that we are in a pre-election period, with the Eastfield by-election being held on 19 June 2025.  Whilst the business of the Council continues, we do need to be mindful of avoiding giving an individual or a political group a platform by which they can influence public opinion in the lead up to the election.  Please can I ask that all members are mindful of this during today’s proceedings.

There were none.

An opportunity for Members to discuss issues of key concern in the constituency.

The Rt Hon Sir Julian Smith MP provided an update on the work that is currently being undertaken. This included information on the EU and associated Government updates, Government Policy changes, trade issues, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and the promotion of local businesses.

Members raised the following points during the discussion.

·       The disappointment surrounding the closure of businesses in rural villages such as Grassington Post Office and Arla in Settle was discussed.

·       The potential impact that the Assisted Dying Bill could have on the operation of Hospices and End of Life Care Provision was discussed.

·       The need to pursue a reform of Social Care provision was emphasised and it was stated that every effort would be made in Parliament to ensure that this happened as soon as possible.

·       A discussion between the local Councillor and the MP relating to the Sutton Lane footpath would be arranged following of the meeting.

·       Concerns were raised in terms of the lack of funding for Social Care from Central Government and the impact that was having on the delivery of essential services. The difficulty in recruiting within the sector was also outlined with a reliance on immigration to fill those positions. It was also suggested that the position had been compounded by the increases in National Insurance imposed on employers. The loss of the rural allowance had led to an enhanced detrimental financial position for North Yorkshire Council.

·       Issues relating to the SEND position in the County and the funding required for that were also discussed.

Resolved

a) That the update is noted.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice and supplied the text to Stephen Loach, Vicky Davies or Christian Brennan, democraticservices.west@northyorks.gov.uk by midday on Friday 23 May 2025, three working days before the day of the meeting.  Each speaker must limit themselves to 3 minutes.

Members of the public who have given notice will be invited to speak:-

·         at this point in the meeting if their questions/statements relate to matters which are not otherwise on the Agenda (subject to an overall time limit of 30 minutes);

·         when the relevant Agenda item is being considered if they wish to speak on a matter which is on the Agenda for this meeting.

If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chair who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.

There were no requests from the public to speak at this meeting.

Resolved

a) That as a business decision had been made on this matter it would not be discussed further at this meeting.

To provide Members with an update on projects and programmes delivered by the Localities service and an overview of progress made in the Skipton and Ripon Constituency area in 2024/25.

Sharon Hudson – Communities Area Manager (West) and Helen Williams – Locality Lead (Skipton and Ripon) presented an update outlining the progress of the Localities Service in 2024/25. They highlighted the following:-

•       The Communities Team working collaboratively with other services

•       Prevention & reducing health inequalities

-        Stronger Communities Programme Inspire Fund

-        Health Inequalities

•       Financial Inclusion

-        Local Food Support

-        Cost of Living Communications Campaign

-        Holiday Activities Fund/FEAST

•       Digital Inclusion

-        UK Shared Prosperity Fund

-        Reboot North Yorkshire

•       Community Resilience

-        Community Anchor Organisations (CAOs)

-        Local Assistance Centre – Knaresborough & Kirkbymoorside

•       Capacity Building

•       Social regeneration

-        UKSPF (Communities & Place)

-        Community Partnerships

-        Town Investment Plans

•       Parish Liaison and Local Devolution Team

-        Parish Charter

-        Parish Liaison

-        Parish Consultation Panel

-        Parish Portal/Parish Website

-        Local Devolution

-        Community Rights

•       Migrant Programmes

-        Integrated Community Support

-        Resettlement

-        Asylum

-        Homes for Ukraine

-        Translation and Interpretation

•       Progress in Skipton and Ripon Area Committee area

-        Community Anchor Organisations (CAOs)

-        Community Partnerships

-        Craven Communities Together

-        The ‘Core 20 + 5’ projects in Skipton

-        Ripon Sights and Sounds

-        Inspire Grants and Infrastructure Funding

Members discussed the report and the following issues were raised:-

•       How to co-ordinate community organisations and volunteers through the Grassington Hub.

•       The development of a Town Regeneration scheme for Settle and how that would be progressed.

•       Issues relating to Parish Councils running and maintaining public toilets and whether this was a cost effective were discussed. Examples of public toilets being operated successfully were provided.

Resolved

That Members noted the content of this report, outlining progress of the Localities

service in 2024/25, and the issues raised.

To provide Members with an annual update on the work of the Community Safety & CCTV service in the Skipton and Ripon areas. This will include a focus on Community Safety Hubs, CCTV and the wider strategic Community Safety Partnership

Julia Stack, Community Safety Officer, introduced the report which provided an

annual update on Community Safety and CCTV service activities in Skipton and

Ripon. The focus areas included Community Safety Hubs, CCTV operations, and

strategic partnership work.

Community Safety Hubs

Anti-Social Behaviour hotspots identified:

Skipton Bus Station (youth-related nuisance)

Spa Gardens and Temple Gardens, Ripon (vandalism, underage drinking, drug use)

Interventions:

Quarterly Skipton Town Centre Working Group meetings.

Youth club support and graffiti removal.

Additional CCTV funding for Skipton Bus Station.

Crucial Crew initiative across 25 schools.

Spa Quarter enhancements including lighting and café improvements.

Youth provision in Spa Park via YMCA and Inspire Youth.

Temple Gardens regeneration project secured £15,000 funding.

Ripon Business Crime Partnership with 27 members linked to Harrogate CCTV.

Tools and Powers:

Criminal Behaviour Order prepared for persistent ASB offender in Craven.

Project Work:

Emergency bleed kits planned for Skipton, Crosshills, and Ripon.

Knife bin usage statistics shared.

Performance Framework:

Development underway to measure hub effectiveness against Key Performance.

Strategic Partnership Work

Domestic Abuse:

Seven engagement events held during 16 Days of Action.

Four disclosures of domestic abuse received and supported.

Serious Violence Prevention:

Knife bin rollout completed in January 2025.

Night-Time Economy:

Ongoing partnership work supporting NYP strategy.

Prevent and Protect and Prepare:

Local multi-agency groups established across West, Central, and East areas.

WRAP training and Prevent Champion event planned.

Martyn’s Law implementation support underway.

CCTV and Business Crime

CCTV control rooms located in Harrogate, Scarborough, and Northallerton.

Northallerton control room functions to transfer to Harrogate by August 2025.

Ripon’s 10 cameras managed by Harrogate.

Strategic review of CCTV infrastructure and future transformation planned.

Police Activity

Representatives of North Yorkshire Police outlined the following:-

·       The structure for Policing Services for the Area Committee area – including PCSOs

·       Crime rates for the area- an increase in detection rates and falls in overall crime and anti-social behaviour.

·       Attendance at incidents.

·       Neighbourhood Policing activities within the area.

·       Operations and initiatives being undertaken throughout the area.

Members discussed the report and the following issues were highlighted:-

·       The recruitment and deployment of PCSOs, including work alongside the other emergency services as first responders.

·       The current quality of CCTV, the standard required in terms of providing evidence to court and whether upgrades are required to meet these standards.

·       Issues around the rerouting of the A65 following road traffic incidents and the impact this has on local communities was discussed. The matter would be discussed further with the Road Safety Team.

·       Cross border crime appeared to be quite prevalent, particularly in South Craven, with the impact coming from West Yorkshire. Action continued to address this, including the use of ANPR technology. Concerns regarding

·       Child Sexual Exploitation and County Lines drugs issues were discussed. A multi-agency approach to these matters was being undertaken, with intelligence being developed to enable appropriate, positive action to be taken. Although this is not a significant issue in Craven it was emphasised that every effort was made to ensure that young people were kept as safe as possible.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 185.

To provide an update to the Committee on the recommendations laid out in the former Craven District Council’s review of the impact of tourism on the Craven district.

Vicky Davies of Democratic Services presented a report updating the Committee on

the recommendations from the former Craven District Council’s review of tourism

impacts. The following issues were highlighted:-

·       The review was requested at the Committee’s meeting on 12 December 2024.

·       Craven’s scrutiny reviews were handed to North Yorkshire Council post reorganisation.

·       A Destination Management Plan (DMP) was adopted in October 2024, superseding Craven’s local strategies.

·       The DMP provides a strategic framework for tourism across North Yorkshire and is reviewed annually.

·       Craven’s Original Recommendations key points included:

-        Planning authorities to consider tourism’s impact on infrastructure and communities.

-        Review of the no litter bins policy by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

-        Joint stakeholder approach to parking issues in honeypot destinations.

-        Continued use of Safety Advisory Group powers for large events.

-        Promotion of multi-agency partnerships to address community issues.

-        Improved engagement by the National Park Authority with affected parishes.

-        Greater on-site management by park rangers.

-        Business Support to promote the review’s recommendations.

-        Continued promotion of greener travel and lobbying for better public transport.

Progress and Updates

-        Local Plan Consultation (19 May – 15 July 2025) includes tourism related policies.

-        Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 allows a 100% council tax premium on second homes from April 2025.

-        Parish Liaison Team reports minimal issues raised about litter or antisocial behaviour.

-        Waste Management Service has not received tourism-related complaints; general litter issues are being addressed.

-        Parking Strategy is under development, including stakeholder consultation and a framework of 20 principles.

-        North Yorkshire Police successfully reduced post-Covid anti-social behaviour in Upper Wharfedale through partnership working.-

-        Following the publication of the report an update was received from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority addressing a number of issues within the report. This was circulated to Members prior to the meeting.

Members discussion of the report highlighted the following issues:-

·       Engagement with local communities, key stakeholders and visitors was required to determine what the issues were, where they were situated and how they should be addressed.

·       Representatives of Visit North Yorkshire should be invited to a subsequent meeting of the Area Committee to discuss tourism funding and how this could be utilised to address some of the issues outlined.

·       The management of events was vital to the protection of local communities from the issues highlighted and in some areas this was working well.

·       Issues relating to bad car parking, litter, ant-social behaviour and congestion were highlighted.

·       Details were provided in respect of issues in Upper Wharfedale and Horton-in Ribblesdale, and the difficulties created in those areas.

·       Previously, the District Council had formed a task and finish group to consider the concerns and managing the numbers of visitors coming into specific locations was amajor issue highlighted.

·       The co-ordination of parking at those peak visitor areas was imperative.

·       Whilst tourism was welcomed to the area the concerns of local residents had to be taken account of.

·       The issue of litter and the current  ...  view the full minutes text for item 186.

Ian Kelly – Head of Countryside Access Service, Beth Brown – Principal Definitive Map Officer and Andrew Brown – Principal PROW Officer delivered a presentation outlining details of the Countryside Access Service review, highlighting the following:-

·       The Service Structure – a Multi-tiered team includingPROW Officers (Public Rights of Way), Definitive Map Officers, Technical Officers, Volunteer Coordinators and Structures Engineers

·       An overview of the Service’s budget commitments was provided

·       Definitive Map Team - Maintains 10,253 km of public rights of way – the longest network in England and Wales - Legal responsibilities:Diversions, creations, extinguishments. Processing claims to add/amend routes (approx. 300 active applications). Increased activity due to 2031 cut-off for historic evidence-based claims. Opposed orders referred to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

·       Maintenance Team - Maintains:6,144 km of PROW outside National Parks,

4,109 km within National Parks (via delegation), 737 km of unsealed roads.

Responsibilities include:Surface, signage, and structure maintenance (approx. 1,700 bridges). Supporting landowners with stiles and gates.

Handling 1,700 issues annually, with 90.5% of the network accessibleSupports: 3 National Landscapes, 6 National Trails, 14 long-distance promoted routes, 12 off-road National Cycle Network sections – details of a number of projects were provided.

·       Community Engagement - Active volunteer and path-keeper groups,

use of Strava heat maps to monitor walking, running, and cycling activity

·       Further Information - CAS Annual Report – Local Access Forum (28 May 2025) Public Rights of Way – North Yorkshire Council

Members discussed the presentation and the following issues were highlighted:-

·       In terms of PRoWs details of how appeals are undertaken, when the situation may go to a Public inquiry and the type of evidence required were provided. It was noted that the Secretary of State could intervene where confirmation of the PRoW cannot be determined.

·       It was stated that evidence had to be provided for the review of a PRoW to be undertaken.

·       One a PRoW has been defined, eg footpath, bridleway, etc., that could not be altered, despite objections to how it is used.

·       Monitoring of the use of PRoWs and whether this was in accordance with the appropriate conditions, was undertaken by a number of agencies.

·       The Service works closely with Planning Services to ensure that delivery of the service is as pro-active as possible. The Service also contributes to the Local Transport Plan.

·       Details of the reasons for the closure or change of category of a PRoW were discussed and it was noted that this was guided by legislation, with strict criteria in place as to how this can be implemented.

·       The Service has a good relationship with the Police in terms of identifying and preventing the mis-use of PRoWs.

Councillors Philip Barrett and David Ireton left the meeting at this stage.

·       Volunteering, how to become a volunteer and their contribution to the service were highlighted.

·       Further exploration of the use of planning gain funding through S106 agreements was being explored to maximise the use of available funding. Members locality budgets could also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 187.

To provide an informational overview of Natural England and understand their national goals and objectives.and  determine whether Member’s require further information on any local areas of interest covered by Natural England.

Christian Brennan, Democratic Services Officer, presented a report providing details of the work undertaken by Natural England following a request from Members. The following details were highlighted:-

·       The report provided an overview of Natural England’s national role, mission, and priorities.

·       Natural England is the UK Government’s statutory adviser on the natural environment in England.

·       Its remit includes conserving and enhancing landscapes, biodiversity, and public access to nature

·       Vision: “Thriving Nature for people and planet”

·       Mission: “Building partnerships for Nature’s recovery”

·       Six long-term priorities include:Accelerating nature recovery, tackling root causes of environmental decline, supporting sustainable development, promoting sustainable farming, forestry, and fishing, shaping better places for people andenhancing community access to nature and its health benefits.

·       Key responsibilities - Managing National Nature Reserves and SSSIs, promoting countryside access, advising on sustainable land use and planning,supporting biodiversity and habitat conservation,delivering environmental schemes for land managers andleading initiatives like the Green Infrastructure Framework.

·       Organisational Context:Natural England is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) under Defra. Its work contributes to the Defra Outcome Framework and the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) with an emphasis on partnership working to restore ecosystems and biodiversity.

·       Delivery Portfolios: Resilient landscapes and seas, connecting people with nature, greener farming and fisheries, sustainable development, science and evidence, managing the Organisation

·       Members were directed to several online resources for more detail

Resulting from the information report Members considered further issues they would like to develop further with Natural England at a subsequent meeting. The following were highlighted:-

·       A request was made for 3 examples of their work being undertaken within the geographical areas of the Committee’s boundary.

·       Details of their input and impact on the planning process.

·       Their approach to and co-ordination with local land owners and farmers.

Resolved

That the report be noted, and representatives of Natural England be invited to a subsequent meeting of the Committee to allow further discussion of their work.

To invite Members to consider, amend and add to the Committee’s work programme.

Members reviewed the work programme and suggested the following additions.

·       Representatives of Visit North Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority be invited to a subsequent meeting to discuss further the issues relating to the impact of tourism.

·       Further discussion of the Council’s Destination Management Plan in respect of the issues relating to the impact of tourism.

·       An update report on housing issues in the area.

·       Details on the Council’s consultation on the review of parking services

·       An update on smart meter connectivity with the Data Communications Company (DCC) – it was noted that the DCC did not liaise directly with Local Authorities but would provide an update via the Constituency MP.

Resolved -

That the above additions detailed be made to the work programme.

There were none.

Thursday, 11 September 2025 at 10.00am at a venue to be confirmed

Thursday, 11 September 2025 at 10.00am.