Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Dickinson proposed and Councillor Weighell seconded that Councillor Yvonne Peacock be elected Chair of Richmond (Yorks) Area Committee.

Decision

That Councillor Yvonne Peacock be appointed as Chair of Richmond (Yorks) Area Committee until the first meeting of the Committee following the Council’s Annual General Meeting in 2027.

The Chair advised that the MP would speak to the committee before item 6 on the agenda, due to his other commitments.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Stuart Parsons and Steve Watson.

Councillor Peacock proposed and Councillor Weighell seconded that Councillor Caroline Dickinson be elected Vice Chair of Richmond (Yorks) Area Committee.

Decision

That Councillor Caroline Dickinson be appointed as Vice Chair of Richmond (Yorks) Area Committee until the first meeting of the Committee following the Council’s Annual General Meeting in 2027.

Decision

That the minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2026 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record, subject to the following amendments.

Minute 191, point 1 paragraph 3 should read “A Member proposed asking the Executive (Executive Member) to consider offering the same discretion to Middleham and Spennithorne and Bainbridge and Aiskew (and any future federations).”

Minute 191, point 3 paragraph 3 should read “The Council has committed to working with schools during the course of the phased implementation of the policy to monitor its impact, and also to undertake a review of the implementation of the policy.

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.

There were no declarations of interest.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice to Democratic Services (democraticservices.east@northyorkshire.gov.uk) and supplied the text by midday on 24 June 2026, three working days before the day of the meeting. Each speaker should limit themselves to three minutes on any item.

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.

From Chris Johnson, on behalf of Stokesley Town Council.

1.     I would like to briefly touch on two issues on today’s agenda that are of particular importance to Stokesley and the surrounding area.

Firstly, before the Committee receives the formal update from LINK, I wanted to thank Members and Rishi for the support shown to the Stokesley Banking Hub campaign since I last addressed this Committee in March.

This is a campaign that Cllr Bryn Griffiths and I have been leading for over a year, working with residents, businesses and community organisations to make the case for a Banking Hub in Stokesley.

We were delighted when LINK confirmed that Stokesley had been recommended for a Banking Hub. While there is still work to do before it becomes operational, this is a major milestone and reflects the strength of local support for the campaign.

That support has helped ensure that the voice of Stokesley and the surrounding area has been heard.

The work is not finished. Bryn and I remain actively involved, working with stakeholders on potential locations, keeping local businesses and residents updated, and helping to ensure the hub is delivered as quickly as possible.

2.     The following statement was made at item 9 of the agenda

Secondly, I would like to raise an issue relating to CCTV.

Are Members aware that this Council charges North Yorkshire Police to access CCTV footage? Are they also aware that North Yorkshire Council appears to be one of only a handful of councils in the country to do so?

Most councils take the view that residents are best served by working alongside the police to prevent and solve crime, rather than placing restrictions or financial barriers in the way of accessing potential evidence.

The income generated from these charges is minimal given the context of the Council’s overall budget. However, the potential consequences are much greater. Every request requires additional administration, additional time and additional public resources. More importantly, any barrier to accessing CCTV footage risks discouraging its use or delaying access to evidence that could help identify offenders, secure convictions and keep our communities safe.

Residents expect CCTV cameras to be there to support law enforcement and protect the public. They do not expect one public body to charge another for access to evidence gathered for that very purpose.

I am therefore formally seeking this Committee’s backing for my proposal that these charges be abolished and that North Yorkshire Police be given immediate and unrestricted access to CCTV footage for the purposes of preventing and detecting crime.

Surely our shared priority should be making it as easy as possible to solve crime and keep residents safe.

From Suzy Wilson. Ms Wilson was unable to attend the meeting, so the following statement was read by Councillor Angus Thompson.

I am speaking on behalf of the Hope Moor Wind Farm Action Group.

Firstly, we are very grateful for the Right Honourable MP Rishi Sunak for mentioning us last Thursday, 11th June 2026, in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Right Hon Rishi Sunak MP attended the meeting and gave the following update.

GP services in Reeth – Mr Sunak recognised the challenges faced to bring this to a conclusion but confirmed engagement with Richmond Primary Care Network and the South Tees Trust to ensure a sustainable future. Mr Sunak thanked a number of people and organisations who had worked together to achieve this outcome.

Hope Moor Wind Farm - the plans for this project were unveiled last year and Mr Sunak has met with the developer. The proposal was to build 23 turbines up to 200 meters high between Swaledale and Teasdale. The application would be decided by the Secretary of State under a streamlined planning procedure. Mr Sunak committed to ensure that all viewpoints were reflected in the process. Mr Sunak raised concerns in parliament about the visual impact in a nationally important landscape and the possible damage to peatlands.

A66 - the upgrade and duelling was confirmed but the timeline had not yet been clarified.

Traffic congestion around Catterick and Colburn – Mr Sunak had convened a meeting with representatives from Catterick Garrison, Councillor Foster and Councillor Les. It was agreed that the next step would be an up-to-date traffic survey which North Yorkshire Council would carry out.

Adam Wilkinson, Senior Public Affairs Manager at LINK attended to provide background and update the committee on the decision to provide a Banking Hub in Stokesley.

Mr Wilkinson explained that LINK ran the cash machine network across the UK and were the organisation which tracked bank closures across the country and recommended additional shared services where they may be required. This remit was defined in legislation and regulated to protect access to cash withdrawals and deposits.

An assessment may be conducted as a result of bank branch closure or in response to a community request. The previous assessment for Stokesley was undertaken as a result of a bank branch closure but at the time of the assessment it very narrowly did not meet the criteria and threshold for recommending a banking hub.

On receipt of the recent request for second assessment, it was found that the threshold had been met for the criteria for a banking hub, which was 70 cash relevant retailers and at least 10,000 adults that lived close to the retail centre.

Once a banking hub had been recommended the process then passed to Cash Access UK, a bank owned infrastructure company, which would find suitable premises and set up the banking hub. Under legislation, at least a temporary hub must be operating within 12 weeks of the recommendation, and it was hoped that a temporary hub would be operational by the end of August.

Members emphasised that users want face-to-face conversations with their bank representatives, and it was explained that this service would be available in the hub. There would be a counter service which any customer of any of the major high street banks would be able to use for cash services and a private consultation room staffed by community bankers from the top five most popular banks in Stokesley. This would provide access to more complex services. Cash Access UK's website lists the offer from the individual banks.

Mr Wilkinson advised that the government had launched a review of access to banking, rather than just access to cash, in recognition that only access cash was not sufficient for communities. It was currently taking evidence and would report in October 2026. Legislation currently passing through Parliament would feed into this review if necessary.

The Chair and local Member thanked Mr Wilkinson for attending the Area Committee and thanked LINK for the decision to recommend a banking hub. The Chair also thanked Stokesley Town Council, the local MP and members of the Area Committee for their support.

Members received an update on the development of Community Safety Hubs across North Yorkshire. It was noted that the model of embedding Community Safety Hub Police Constables within the hubs had operated successfully in the Hambleton and Richmond areas and had since been extended across most of the county. Recruitment to the new structure was largely complete, with some outstanding arrangements on the coast.

A Joint Delivery Group had been established to drive the future development of Community Safety Hubs. The group comprised representatives from North Yorkshire Council and North Yorkshire Police, with plans to extend membership to wider partners and council departments. Its purpose was to promote best practice, innovation, consistency of service delivery, and effective responses to local needs.

Members were advised that a countywide Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Policy and Procedure had been approved, supported by staff training and a common operating framework. This was intended to improve consistency across former district areas while continuing to reflect local community needs.

Councillor Griffiths proposed and Councillor Foster seconded that a review of the CCTV service level agreement and charging framework, including consideration of whether North Yorkshire Police should assume responsibility for the service be undertaken. However, the motion was formally withdrawn after the Committee was informed that the CCTV service is undergoing a comprehensive strategic review. The review was examining the overall CCTV offer across North Yorkshire, including funding arrangements, service delivery models, service level agreements and the differing legacy arrangements inherited from former district councils.

Officers explained that CCTV was not a statutory service and represented a significant ongoing cost due to staffing, system maintenance and equipment replacement. Existing arrangements with North Yorkshire Police originated from agreements made with former district councils and involved financial contributions from the police towards the operation of CCTV control rooms.

Members were advised that North Yorkshire Council, as data controller, was required to operate a formal process for requests to access CCTV footage. This process was necessary for data protection compliance and the transition from DVD-based systems to digital evidence-sharing had significantly improved efficiency.

There was no North Yorkshire Council-operated public space CCTV provision in Richmond and therefore no associated charges to North Yorkshire Police for CCTV footage from that area. CCTV provision in Richmond was managed separately by Richmond Town Council, while CCTV within Catterick Garrison was operated by the Ministry of Defence.

Members discussed whether charging arrangements for CCTV footage could create barriers to police investigations.

Concerns were raised that any process involving payment or authorisation could potentially delay officers’ access to evidence. Members expressed the view that the Council should support North Yorkshire Police wherever possible and that any obstacles to the timely retrieval of evidence should be reviewed.

Police representatives clarified that the approval process for CCTV requests was not related to budgetary approval but existed to ensure compliance with data protection legislation and to provide appropriate oversight of requests. It was confirmed that requests required line manager authorisation to demonstrate operational necessity and the process was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Committee received an update from the Principal Regeneration Officer on the progress of Town Investment Plans (TIP) in the committee area.

Members welcomed the update and the progress on the Richmond TIP.

With regard to the Hawes TIP, the committee commented that the proposed Hawes to Garsdale footpath and cycleway would be a positive contribution. The officer confirmed that the team worked closely with tourism colleagues and agreed that the footpath and cycleway would be a positive development, not just for Hawes but for the wider Dales area.

The full consultation, including drop-in events, for Leyburn was due to take place throughout July. Schools’ engagement had taken place. The target completion date for the plan for Leyburn was July 2027.

Councillor Griffiths commented that parking was an issue in Stokesley and would need to be considered when work commenced on the Stokesley TIP, particularly when considering access from the surrounding areas. The officer advised that parking issues were a consistent theme across the whole of North Yorkshire and they were working closely with the parking team and the highways team to try address the issues. TIPs helped identify issues and provide solutions, for example, in Richmond 150 extra spaces had been identified that could be brought into use over the next 5-10 years.

The primary ambition of TIPs was to improve town centres, but they also considered how towns could best serve their local areas.

Resolved

That the report be noted.

The Combined Authority would launch a 12-week consultation on the draft Local Transport Plan in August 2026. The Committee agreed to the Chair’s request to submit a response on behalf of the Committee based on the “Transport to Work and Study” feasibility study. Councillor Foster requested that any response included the difficulties that residents in rural areas face to accessing healthcare.

The consultation would be open to residents, businesses, community groups and transport users from across the region.

Members requested;

·       A copy/detail of the Council’s submission to the Hope Moor Wind Farm stage one consultation and scoping.

·       Attendance by an officer to take Members’ questions and provide more information on usage of the libraries, visitor numbers etc.

During discussion on the work programme Members requested a brief update on the resources available to the Planning team. The Development Management Team Manager for the area advised that recruitment for additional resources was ongoing. Planning Officers and Technical Officers had recently joined the team and as a result there had been an improvement in outcomes.

·       Members requested an update on the resources for Planning Enforcement at the next meeting.

The Development Management Team Manager offered Members an explanation of the process to be followed for the Hope Moor Wind Farm proposal as follows.

The Constitution set out that the Strategic Planning Committee was responsible for responses as a statutory consultee to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, for which a development consent order was being sought under the Planning Act 2008.

Therefore, Officers would prepare a report with recommendations and seeking delegated authority to:

·     Prepare a Local Impact Report

·     Contribute to a Statement(s) of Common Ground

·     Agree the content of the draft Development Consent Order (DCO)

·     Make all further necessary representations on behalf of North Yorkshire Council

The Constitution does not inform in respect of the pre-application stage.

In the case of the Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report, North Yorkshire Council had only 4 weeks to respond and therefore it was not possible to present a report to the Strategic Planning Committee.

The response to the consultation was submitted on time.

Items 13 a-c were for information only.

Resolved

That the reports be noted.

Any other items which the Chair agrees should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances.

There were no urgent items of business.