Agenda item

Considered - Kathryn Daly, Assistant Director for Place Shaping and Growth, opened the session by outlining the purpose of the update and introducing colleagues Julian Rudd (Head of Regeneration- South and West) and Tony Watson (Head of Tourism).

It was explained that the covering report and accompanying documents aimed to give a high‑level overview of progress across economic development, regeneration and tourism, and to introduce emerging work on developing a prioritised pipeline of capital growth projects for North Yorkshire.

Kathryn Daly described the newly established Place Shaping and Growth service, which consolidates the economic development, regeneration, tourism, planning and building control services together. Its core role is to create the right conditions for sustainable economic growth by supporting job creation, enabling appropriate housing delivery, unlocking strategic sites, and attracting investment. She emphasised that national, regional and local strategies have shifted substantially, particularly following the recent formation of the York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, meaning the Council must be clear about its priorities to maximise future funding opportunities.

Tony Watson outlined key achievements to date: securing £131m in external funding following Local Government Reorganisation, delivering a successful small business grant scheme, running the first North Yorkshire Business Week, launching the Visit North Yorkshire website, adopting the Destination Management Plan, and rolling out the “More to North Yorkshire” tourism campaign. He also highlighted progress on major regeneration schemes including the Whitby Maritime Hub and Town Deal programmes.

Julian Rudd then set out the rationale for developing a focused and evidence‑based capital pipeline. He stressed the need to improve readiness for funding opportunities by identifying priority projects in areas of greatest economic need and opportunity, initially in Scarborough, Selby and Harrogate, and aligning employment, housing and transport schemes to support long‑term growth.

The team invited member feedback ahead of a report to the Executive.

Committee members then made the following comments:

·       Members welcomed the report and recognised the value of having a structured pipeline of projects, noting similarities with previous district‑level approaches but on a much larger strategic scale.

·       A suggestion was made for a two‑tier economic development model: encompassing a countywide strategic tier focused on major transport, industry and tourism; then a local tier focused on former district geographies, enabling smaller but impactful local projects.

·       Concern was expressed that the anticipated benefits of the Mayoral Combined Authority, particularly improved access to funding, had not yet fully materialised.

·       Members emphasised the need for strong communication channels between North Yorkshire Council, City of York Council, the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire and the Combined Authority to ensure clarity of roles and effective joint working.

·       Clarification was requested regarding the place‑based model set out in section 4.5. Officers explained the model is being delivered largely through 32 Town Investment Plans (TIPs) covering settlements of all sizes. Town Investment Plans will identify short, medium, and long‑term local priorities based on business and resident engagement.

·       Concerns were raised about Selby’s regeneration focus, including overly Abbey‑centric planning, congestion, insufficient infrastructure, empty buildings, and lack of progress at strategic employment sites such as Olympia Park.

·       Questions were raised on the economic case for dualling the A64, with calls for a wider economic impact assessment of the route to Malton and then on to Scarborough.

·       Praise was given for the strong community engagement to date with the TIPs process, with a further request for a briefing made by the local Member on the Shepley Spring Water development.

·       There was a discussion on how to revitalise long‑vacant buildings and attract targeted sector‑based investment.

·       Significant concerns were raised about consistency and sustainability of Tourist Information Centres across the county, including the role of physical vs digital provision and reliance on volunteers.

·       A question was raised over capacity: Is the current team big enough to deliver the scale of projects? Officers noted the need to include delivery funding in future bid submissions.

·       Sustainability was raised due to concerns about plastic bottling companies, climate priorities, natural capital, and the need for green construction skills jobs countywide.

Following this, officers were thanked for the detailed report and the feedback received to be incorporated into the forthcoming report to the Executive.