Yorkshire Coast Towns Could Get Share of £1.2m Investment

Communities across North Yorkshire are due to be given extra support amid plans to allocate more than £1.2 million to identify their investment needs.

The proposals would see the funding used in a co-ordinated approach to promote sustainability as well as revitalising communities by bringing key groups together to identify those needs for each area.

A total of 32 towns and key centres for North Yorkshire Council which provide services to hundreds of thousands of people are set to benefit from the funding including Scarborough, Filey, Whitby, Pickering, Eastfield and Cayton.

Members of North Yorkshire Council’s executive will be asked on Tuesday, May 6, to approve a £1.2 million grant from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to support the project.

The county has a diverse range of urban, rural and coastal communities with the 32 towns and service centres identified for plans representing 376,431 residents – 61 per cent of the county’s population.  

But while each of those towns has its own character, they all face challenges from changing economic, technological, social and environmental trends. The plans will be developed around a framework of key themes including providing workspaces, revitalising town centres, improving travel options, regenerating cultural and heritage assets, and reducing health inequalities.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for open to business, Cllr Mark Crane, said: 

“We see these town investment plans as a way to connect our towns particularly those that are often in deeply rural locations.

“They will be used to engage with residents, stakeholders and local businesses to understand key issues and opportunities in their areas.

“Each area has its own character, but they all share the same issues and challenges and these plans will provide the means to shape their futures.”

The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, said:

”The high streets are changing, and we need to stay flexible and forward-thinking to keep pace and help our communities thrive.

“High streets form a central place for our communities to come together, especially in our more isolated areas. Providing better access,  will be key to unlocking our region's economic and social potential, creating vibrant spaces for us all to live, work and visit.

“We are all well aware of how diverse our region is, but our towns have common challenges that impact our economy, travel, environment, and health. To counter these, we need to drive investment into our towns’ infrastructure, which is why I provided over £1m to support these plans.

“I look forward to seeing how North Yorkshire Council use this funding, and the positive impact it will have on our region.”

North Yorkshire is England’s largest county and covers more than 3,000 square miles and includes coastal communities, a series of market towns as well as deeply rural areas including the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks.

The programme will be run over a three-year period from May 2025 in the 32 locations of: Bedale, Bentham, Boroughbridge, Catterick Garrison and Colburn, Easingwold, Eastfield and Cayton, Filey, Grassington and Threshfield, Harrogate, Hawes, Helmsley, Ingleton, Kirkbymoorside, Knaresborough, Leyburn, Malton and Norton, Masham, Northallerton, Pateley Bridge, Pickering, Richmond, Ripon, Scarborough. Selby, Settle, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Skipton, South Craven, Stokesley, Tadcaster, Thirsk and Whitby.