Newly-created North Yorkshire Council claims rethink on districts' Local Plans is ‘huge opportunity’ for economy

County councillors agreed in February to proceed with a new Local Plan for North Yorkshire Council to encompass all areas of the county outside the National Parks for a minimum of 15 years and, in relation to any larger scale developments, such as new settlements or significant extensions to urban areas, at least 30 years.

Coun Derek Bastiman, an executive member of the newly-created North Yorkshire Council, said a new bigger Local Plan "presents a huge opportunity to provide a co-ordinated planning policy".

"We are committed to driving forward investment and development in North Yorkshire, but we need to have a carefully co-ordinated planning policy in place," said Coun Bastiman whose responsibilities include planning and economic development.“The previous seven district and borough councils in North Yorkshire acted as planning authorities, but the move to one unitary authority allows the chance to provide a single, unified approach to development.“This will help attract new investment and bring in much-needed new homes to address affordable housing issues. "

When Harrogate's Local Plan was finally adopted in 2020, backed by all of the town’s political parties, it promised to be a blueprint for the future development of the Harrogate district - setting out areas where thousands of new homes and businesses should be built up until 2035 with guidelines on planning decisions.

The change of tack as part of North Yorkshire’s current local government reorganisation is already a cause for discussion for some business leaders.Adam Key, the head of planning at Savills commercial property consultants in Leeds, claims the process risks leaving development in North Yorkshire in a state of flux to the detriment of the local economy."The new council will need to work closely with Leeds and York and will be responsible for a vast geography totalling 803,700ha in area with a population of 618,800."Over the next 15 years at least 37,000 new homes 240ha of new business premises are required in the region to cater for the needs of the population and the economy."The needs of North Yorkshire cannot be frozen in time while this process takes place."In some cases where a former district council has an up-to-date Local Plan, this will form the basis of decision making in the near term."Other former districts have Local Plans which are already out of date.

"It's worrying that one of the crucial mechanisms by which these outcomes are delivered will now all be in a state of flux possibly for years."

The abolition of all North Yorkshire's district councils, including Harrogate's, also throws the spotlight back onto the contentious question of house building and infrastructure in the town.

Under the new system of local government for the Harrogate district – and the rest of North Yorkshire – the new Tory-controlled North Yorkshire Council has already decided that the area constituency planning committee of councillors from Harrogate and Knaresborough will be responsible for decisions on local planning matters.

But, following success in the May 2022 county council elections, the committee now has a Lib Dem majority and is chaired by Harrogate councillor Pat Marsh.