Agenda item

Considered –

A presentation by David Caulfield, Linda Marfitt and Emily MacDowell from economic development at Craven District Council and Harrogate Borough Council regarding economic development in the greater Ripon area.

Some of the key points highlighted in the presentation are as summarised below:

·         Ripon has a resident population of 16,200 (2020)

·         25% of Ripon’s population is aged 65+

·         Median house prices in Ripon are 10% (£26,250) higher than for North Yorkshire

·         The key employment sectors are agriculture, forestry and fishing; construction and accommodation and food services

·         Average of 15 new business start-ups per quarter, over the past two years

·         Ripon has nearly 260 retail units, of which 10% are currently vacant

·         The Phoenix Business Park in Ripon is council owned and has 26 units

·         Enablers are: public Wi-Fi and superfast broadband; proximity to the A1(M); active city centre e.g. Ripon BID; and co-ordinated, local business support services and the redevelopment of Ripon Barracks to Clotherholme

·         A new Economic Growth Strategy for North Yorkshire is under development and further information will be shared with members in due course.

There followed a discussion, the key points of which are as summarised below:

·         The Area Constituency Committee is a key stakeholder in the development of local economic development plans and strategies and needs to be directly involved in the shaping of them

·         The residential development at the former barracks site in Ripon will increase the population by 25%. Most of which will be of working age.  Opportunities for work and upskilling need to be provided locally otherwise Ripon will simply become a dormitory city for people working elsewhere

·         Concerns raised that the employment allocation on the former barracks site was not enough

·         There needs to be more training opportunities for young people leaving school in Ripon.  At present there is nothing in Ripon itself

·         More work needs to be done on travel and accessibility.  There is no railway station and bus services are continually under threat

·         There remains a lack of clarity over what has happened to the Ripon Masterplan for economic development

·         Ripon has been underserved by Harrogate Borough Council in the past and it is hoped that the new North Yorkshire Council will look seriously at the potential for economic development in Ripon

·         There is too great a focus upon building houses, without any consideration of the associated economic issues and provision of infrastructure, jobs and training

·         Concerns around the high levels of shop vacancy in key parts of the city, particularly the Market Place and radiating streets

·         The highways in Ripon are in a very poor state.  This, combined with the vacant shops, make Ripon look rundown and undermines its development economically and as a tourist destination

·         Concerns raised that local councillors had not been directly involved in discussions around economic development in the area

·         The Local Plan will be a key route for influencing economic development in the area.

County Councillor Andrew Williams said that £85,000 had been spent on the development of the Ripon Masterplan by Harrogate Borough Council but that there was nothing to show for it.  He asked when the plan would be available for consultation and comment. 

In response, Linda Marfitt said that Harrogate Borough Council had contracted external consultants to do the work.  The work had taken longer than anticipated and the contract with the consultants has now expired.  The council is unable to access the work that had been done by the consultancy.  Work is underway to gather together as much information and analysis as possible and then use that to inform the development of the North Yorkshire Strategy.  There is still £30,000 of the original £85,000 available to support further work.

Linda Marfitt explained that the problems experienced in the development of the plan were unforeseen and apologised for the delays and inconvenient arising.  

The committee Chair summed up and thanked David Caulfield, Linda Marfitt and Emily MacDowell for the presentation and answering the questions raised by committee members.

Resolved –

a)    That the committee notes the presentation

b)    That an update on the new North Yorkshire Economic Growth Strategy is brought to the next meeting of the committee along with details as to how the economic development function in the new council is resourced and led and what the priorities are.

County Councillors Andrew Williams, Andrew Murday and Nick Brown left the meeting at this point in the agenda.