Agenda item

Purpose: To update LAF members on developments since the last meeting.

Considered –

The report of the secretary, which updated on developments since the last meeting.

Members heard that the future of the Selby Local Plan had been discussed at the Development Plan Committee and the Selby & Ainsty Area Committee, both of which took place on the 17 January 2025.  Members views had been sought on the recommendation to cease work on the preparation of the Selby Local Plan and, where possible, to use the evidence base and work undertaken to date to feed into the new local plan for North Yorkshire Council (NYC).  Members on both Committee’s had resolved to recommend to the Executive and Full Council that work on the emerging Selby Local Plan was ceased.

The Forum Members asked a number of questions in relation to the legacy districts Local Plans and whether it was the intention of NYC to have one Local Plan.  The secretary confirmed that the decision to stop work on all the other legacy area Local Plans had been made by Full Council in 2023, that only the Selby Local Plan remained from the legacy councils, and that going forward there would be just one new Local Plan for the whole of North Yorkshire.

Members noted that four formal responses had been sent out by the secretary on their behalf.  In terms of the response regarding a solar farm in Richmond, the Chair raised the Forums concern that, having read recent solar farm applications, it appeared that some of the applicants would like to use the public right of way (PROW) as the access to a number of the application sites.  Having researched other local authorities, many had a strategy or policy in place relating to solar farms and it was queried if this was the case for NYC, as the Forum felt that without one, it left PROW extremely vulnerable, and therefore the issue needed to be addressed without delay. 

Discussion took place regarding the length of time that the applicants could potentially close a PROW.  The Principal PROW Officer, Andy Brown, explained NYC were only able to close a PROW for a period of six months, however the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero had granted one applicant in the North Yorkshire area, Yorkshire Green, a development consent order which enabled the company to close a PROW for up to four years.  At present each application was being looked at on a case-by-case basis, and the Council had a very good working relationship with some of the applicants, and that the closures were not usually for a continuous period of four years.

The Head of the Countryside Access Service, Ian Kelly, provided an update on the cut-off date for the recording of historic public rights of way.  The original date set by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 had been 2026, however, this date had been repealed by the previous government and then subsequently reinstated by the current government with an extension to 2031, although no timescales had been set at present.  Members noted that the cut-off date would have meant that no further definitive map modification order (DMMO) applications based on historic documentary evidence could have been submitted after that date.

Mr Kelly informed Members that there had been an escalation in the number of applications received by the Council in the prelude to the 2026 deadline; and with 17 applications already received in January 2025, the trend showed no signs of abatement.

Resolved

i)               That the update be noted.

ii)              That the Chair and Rachel Connolly draft a letter to the Head of Development Management, regarding the LAF’s concerns over Solar Farm planning applications and their impact on PROW and requesting that an interim Planning Policy relating to energy sites be developed.