North Yorkshire Council Annual Briefing In Review : 12th January 2026
Subject: North Yorkshire Council Annual Briefing
Speakers: Cllr Carl Les, Leader of the Council
Richard Flinton, Chief Executive, North Yorkshire Council
Karl Battersby, Corporate Director of Environment and Highways
Ian Howard opened the meeting at 6.20pm, welcoming the members to the meeting and thanking Matthew Mackaness and the team for hosting us at Rudding Park.
Matthew Mackaness welcomed everyone to Rudding Park and shared a short story that a couple of years ago, whilst building works were taking place, he had been to visit the builders and still had his Hi-Vis jacket on. On his way into the Hotel, he saw a couple walking toward reception and stopped to carry their luggage for them. He noted that as a result of this, the hotel received an excellent review on Trip Advisor, noting that even the builders carry your luggage.
Matthew then introduced Janet Scally, Director of Sales at Rudding Park, noting that if anyone was interested in making a booking here at Rudding for a business event, she would love to speak to them.
Ian Howard then gave an overview of Chamber membership benefits, noting that any visitor interested in joining the Chamber should speak to a Management Team Member. They can be identified by their magenta rosettes.
Ian then handed over to our speakers, Carl Les, Richard Flinton and Karl Battersby
Richard began his presentation by noting that North Yorkshire Council is only three years old having been formed as a result of one of the largest mergers of Councils in the country. He noted that it still feels like early days as they draw together over 9,000 staff. This has been done via a number of restructures which have successfully brought separate teams together. The Council is now dealing with the issue of multiple IT systems and bringing these together. It expects to be working on this for the next 18 months.
Service Delivery
Service delivery has remained strong and performance has been strong in both Children’s Services and Housing. Alongside the restructuring, the Council is endeavouring to keep day to day performance going. Richard acknowledged that there is much that still needs to be improved and that there remain issues with some services. However, during 2025 there was a real focus on the day to day activities.
Budgets
In terms of budgets, the Council have lost £14.3 million due to the withdrawal of a Rural Services grant that was previously provided by Central Government. Recently, the Council was informed that a further £20 million will be lost going forward due to the Central Government reallocating funds from rural to metropolitan areas.
There have been big issues with funding for children’s services. They needed, and continue to need, more funding. As a result, the Council needs to save a lot of money. Richard noted that they had already made £72 million in savings but need to make a further £50 milllion savings. When the Council presents its next medium term financial strategy they will say that there is still a gap of £25 million. This gap will be targeted within the next three years, but it was acknowledged that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make savings.
Transportation and Roads
Karl then spoke about transport and noted it did not feel like 12 months since the last meeting. He explained that his role covers waste and regulatory services as well as both environment and highways.
In terms of highways – several schemes have been delivered in 2025 including improvements on Victoria Avenue, a Wetherby Road cycle / pedestrian crossing point, the introduction of more 20 mph zones, the Harland Way cycle routes and works at Stonefall Park. Carriageway planned maintenance has also taken place.
The Council have done a lot to improve cycling infrastructure, and we are expanding our 20 mph zones even further.
The Council has its own company, NY Highways, and they manage Council works and winter services. This move has delivered several million pounds of savings which has helped to support the council’s wider services.
In 2026, the Council will continue with its carriageway and footway maintenance as well as surface dressing to maintain the quality of the roads, and next year, the latter will cost over half a million pounds.
Cycling schemes are getting more traction but Karl did note that these are challenging to implement due to issues as diverse as The Stray Act, the town having so many tree lined avenues, the necessity of providing bus services and ensuring adequate space for all road users on roads that are sometimes narrow with little space to add extra carriageway. These considerations also make getting public support difficult at times.
Karl said he was aware that Utility works sometimes clash with Council work on the highway, and in 2025 the Council arranged for Yorkshire Water to defer works, though he noted this is not possible if utility work is urgently needed. To try to help with this issue, the Council is introducing Lane Rental where, on the busiest roads, the Council can charge £2.500 per day when utility companies need to close the roads for works. This means that the utility companies get the work done more quickly to avoid the costs and this should help to minimise disruption.
Karl then spoke about the Transforming Cities Fund – there are three projects – in Selby, Skipton and Harrogate. Skipton is completed. Selby starts in March 2026. Harrogate’s scheme, has been challenging to achieve. An extension of the timeframe has been granted to deliver the scheme and the Council is waiting for agreement to proceed before they can enter into a contract with NY Highways for the work. Karl noted that there are legal challenges currently raised and the project cannot start until the outcome of those legal challenges is known. The Council does, however, hope to start work on the ground in Spring/Summer this year, noting that the project is an important one as it demonstrates that Harrogate is able to attract funding from Central Government.
The new road at Kex Gill is the Council's largest contract to date. The programme is on schedule with the new road expected to open to traffic in early June 2026. As part of the programme, we are planting 80,000 trees, and we have been working in challenging environments, including being close to an SSSI. Karl showed a fly over style video of the scheme to give a sense of the scale of the project, noting where key challenges had lain with the project and how these were overcome. He also noted that as part of the environmental works, over 80,000 trees were being planted, stone walling had been replaced, drainage added and overflow ponds created. He also noted that they had included both Fish Baffles and Otter Levels in areas of the project to protect wildlife. The planting and return to nature is expected to take around 18 months after the road opens. Some of the old road will remain in place to provide access to homes in the area, but most of the road will be returned to nature.
Winter Services
A review of Winter services took place last year. The improvements that came out of this review include greater emphasis on footway clearance and greater use of mechanical equipment to clear and treat footways. Two new machines have been purchased. Resource availability was also reviewed and it is believed that the enhanced winter service, communications and initiatives, will lead to improvements. He also noted that with global warming, we do not have such harsh, snowy winters, but that the winter service does have to deal with increased issues relating to storms, including flooding, and the winter service enhancements should help the Council to achieve this too. The Council are also looking to promote community gritting and have arranged for Parks and Garden staff to help with gritting were necessary. The council is also working with local groups and QR codes are being rolled out for Grit Bins so that they can be reported and refilled quickly when they are empty
Waste and Street Sweeping
In terms of waste collections, it has been necessary to harmonise seven different working systems into one in order to make them as efficient as possible. The Council waste team now have a standard working week which has led to a notable reduction in missed collections. It is hoped that this service is now in much smoother territory and they are now working on rolling out consistent collection arrangements for recycling. Karl thanked people for bearing with the Council as they made these changes.
Karl acknowledged that street sweeping hasn’t been great and noted that this function will be transferring to NY Highways. This will allow for a more efficient road sweeping service.
Housing
Karl then turned to the discussion of the local plan, noting a particular challenge: the Government’s requirement to increase housing stock. Our area’s target is 4150 houses, and this is a massive ramp up. Over a 20-year period, that requires the delivery of 80,000 houses, more than the number of houses in Harrogate and Scarborough combined.
Whether the market can rise to that challenge is a concern. A screenshot was displayed showing the sites being viewed. All developments are mapped on the NYC website, where they can be viewed and commented on. He noted that the Council are dealing with 100’s of sections of land and the map of proposed sites will go out to consultation next year.
Maltkiln's new settlement needs to be adopted, and the council will use compulsory purchase if needed to achieve this. From the Inspector’s viewpoint, we do have the green light to proceed, and we are serious about moving forward with this new settlement.
In West Harrogate 2.500 houses are to be built and the Council has got government funding for the infrastructure including junctions, schools and community centres.
Harrogate Economy
Harrogate as an economy is doing OK. Harrogate has lower vacancy rates than other places in the country, and the footfall has increased this year, but the dwell time has dropped slightly. However, against a difficult retail environment, Harrogate is doing OK.
The Convention Centre has had a good year. 103 events and bookings have been taken for 2026 so it is looking strong for this year too. This should drive revenue into Harrogate. There are plans to convert Studio Two within the building and the council is investing in this.
Harrogate 47 and Harrogate Business Park have both had planning approved to diversify the economic base of the town.
Harrogate town investment plan has not progressed as quickly as we’d like, but we have been focused on developing investment plans. We’ve been focused on Harrogate and on how to maintain the town's vibrancy. The formal part has closed, but if anyone has strong views, then send the thoughts to Martin Mann, and he will send them on to Richard. We are committed to developing a strong vision for the town and gathering input from those who live here.
Tourism
Tourism department is now up and running, and we have a very active team. Our Visit North Yorkshire website is live, and our marketing campaigns are performing well, including advertising at King's Cross Station and promoting the area in other areas.
We are currently conducting a consultation on businesses' views of the tourism levy and want to understand the sector's views. We will run the ballot around this.
Karl Battersy said that he had seen tourism levies work, but the problem he has with the present proposal is the flat rate format. For places such as Rudding Park, potential visitors may not notice an extra £2, but in a two-star hotel, that may be a major part of the cost and could lead to people not choosing to stay. He felt that both the sector and customers need to provide feedback on this.
Harrogate is showing positive growth in visitor numbers. A video narrated by the Head of Tourism was played, showcasing various areas in Harrogate. This is an example of the kind of marketing items that Visit North Yorkshire puts together, and this video is sent to business visitors.
Street Safety
We are putting work into our safety provisions, CCTV and knife bins. The Council has been upgrading the CCTV cameras, and this has helped the police to identify people engaging in anti-social activity.
Questions from the Floor
Parking
Martin Mann, Chief Executive, asked Karl Battersby about dwell time and the impact of changes to the carparking. Martin noted that changes to how parking is charged are preventing people from being able to pay on exit at both the Jubilee and Victoria car parks. The signage appears to suggest that you are only able to pay on arrival so people are not spending as long in the town as they feel constrainted by the parking time purchased.
Karl explained that it was necessary to replace the machines as they were not working. The Council chose a Pay and Stay model where you pay for the time you need. The new machines do not need staff to be on site to address issues, which was the case with the previous machines. This has saved money. The Council is proposing to move to a new app which will allow you to extend your stay in the carpark via this app, whilst you are out and about. We hope to get that up and running in May this year. We also have a machine replacement process.
Martin noted that there was no signage to make clear that time can be added to your parking stay and Karl is happy to look at signage in the short term.
Co-Working Spaces/Business Incubators
Martin Mann, Chief Executive, noted that Co-Labs was recently closed and asked if there was any intention to bring back some sort of incubator space for businesses around the county.
Operationally, there were problems and fire safety issues. The decision was taken to close it for now and to fully review what should be done with it going forward. One option is to use it as a shared working space. If we could get some feedback from the Chamber on this, that would help and if there’s a demand and we can find a way to make it operate and make it financially viable we can look at that.
Planning Backlogs
Matthew Mackaness, Rudding Park, stated that the Hotel has ambitions to extend into a country club and racquet club. Can we expect to have this planning reviewed in a timely manner?
The Chancellor is looking to get more planners in post across the country and we are looking to get more planners in place within the Council. we do hope to be able to deal with the matter in a timely fashion. We know that in parts of the county we do struggle, but I am confident we can meet your expectations.
Dwell Time – Town Centre
Unknown person asked - How do you work out the dwell time and are there any other areas that you can measure and report on.
I don’t know how it is measured. If you have ideas on how we can monitor activity in Harrogate and improve dwell time, I’m happy to review them.
Relationship between North Yorkshire Council and Harrogate Town Council
Josie Craven, Harrogate Town Council said: I’d like to see a better relationship between the Town Council and NYC.
Richard and Carl noted that they are very keen to have a great relationship with the Harrogate Town Council, noting that it was still a very new Council. Richard stated that he was aware that the Town Council plan is being presented this week and NYC remain very committed to the Town Council. We want to focus on the things that need to get done in Harrogate, and if you can give us your information and feedback, that would be helpful.
Parking and Apps
Charlotte Gale Photography - with regard to Parking Apps, I often struggle with mobile connectivity in the town centre so will there be other options to pay for parking in addition to the app?
Yes. You can pay by cash, card or via the app.
Housing
Tina Hutchinson – Grace and Morris asked whether changes had been made to the planning process to facilitate the increased need for house building or any changes to the planning stages?
We are looking to put in place a single back office technology system across the whole county. At present there are several systems and people tend to know how to use the one they have. By ensuring that everyone is on the same system, planners can be redeployed where there are backlogs and this should streamline the process.
Active Travel
Hazel Peacock from Walk, Bike Scoot. It’s great to hear about the improvements for active transport but given the commitments to new housing, what infrastructure investment do you have from the central government for active travel?
West of Harrogate has been a particular issue for ensuring active travel because we inherited it partially complete and have had to retrofit the active travel within the existing plan, which has been challenging. Developers pay per house, and the proceeds are invested in infrastructure. We plan to ensure there is active travel within that area. We have £36 million loan/grant focused on active travel and we will have to manage over time how that is spent. It won’t be given all at once so it will be a longer term project. For new sites, it will be easier to bring in active travel solutions from the beginning.
Hazel then asked if the Council felt they had sufficient resources to ensure that this undertaking for active travel is given?
We do believe we have the resources. We are looking to create dedicated active travel. One of the biggest issues is mostly with trying to get things through the system when we have the Stray Act, tree lined streets and narrow roads. Throwing more staff at it won’t help, but we do have more resources now to move forward with active travel.
Ian Fozard, Roosters Brewery
On the subject of resources that you have to provide, how do you see the council’s financial situation panning out over the next five years or so?
We’ve been dealing with austerity for sixteen years, and the previous councils have made a go of it, but we’ve had to make cuts year on year, and in rural areas, we are still in austerity, and the grant position is not getting any easier. Through the wider cost of living crisis, we’ve seen families in crisis because of people who can’t pay their bills, and more and more issues around children brought to us. Looking forward, what worries me most is that we do have an older-than-average population, so the demand issue is going to continue.
We have a very strong grip on our finances. We’ve had significant innovation to drive out savings. The savings from the unitary have helped, and the challenge is now how to drive out money from larger organisations, for example, using AI and automation to drive out the requirement for people to do tasks of a routine nature. I am confident that the two will still be sustainable, and I’m optimistic that we aren’t in trouble, but it is difficult, challenging, and some of the budgets are very volatile, and things can change very quickly. I'm optimistic we have the ability to move forward.
Mobile Data
Martin Mann asked on behalf of Chris Dickinson of A.S.E Computer Services. What pressure can the council put on the mobile providers to increase coverage and mobile signals in the area?
In the old council we had someone who was a specialist in this area, however, they were lost to the Unitary Authority so we no longer have that resource. We are happy to work with the Mayor and we are keen to address those white spaces. We are aware they are there, even on main A Roads. We are pleased to lobby on it.
Ian Howard then thanked the speakers for their time noting that if anyone has questions they would like to pass on, they can be sent to Martin Mann and he will ensure that Richard, Carl and Karl receive them.
New Members:
We have had a great uplift in membership with 12 new members joining since the end of November. Nathan from Radfield Care introduced his business. They are a home care company that operates in the Harrogate area, helping older people to remain in their homes. They work with other organisations to support clients socially and joined the Chamber to create new relationships that will allow them to do this more widely.
Members News
Tamsin O’Brien, Stray Ferret - The Stray Ferret Business Awards night takes place on 26 March. This is an opportunity to celebrate success and network. Entries for the awards close in two weeks and there is a new Family Business Award this year. Tamsin encouraged Chamber members to nominate themselves for awards, or to book tickets for the event., noting that if you enter and are shortlisted you will get a free ticket and that it is a fun night. Details are here https://thestrayferret.co.uk/the-stray-ferret-business-awards/
Paul – Ake and Humphris – wine and beer specialists We have opened our third store and hybrid venture on Oxford Street in Harrogate. All members are welcome to browse our bar selection or pick a bottle to enjoy at home. Chamber members get a discount on both bar bill and takeawy as we are grateful for the support we’ve had in getting the place open.
Louise Terzza – Time Together We are the Chamber President’s Charity for the Year. Time Together, HADCA and Disability Action Yorkshire will benefit from the upcoming Beer Festival in Harrogate. The Beer Festival are looking for sponsors and volunteers to help with the event. Please get in contact if you are interested in either opportunity.
Zach Greaves Artus Digital – telling stories about businesses for businesses. We have soft-launched Brand Amplifier, and I’m formally launching this service here, tonight. Combining professional graphic design with written materials, the service is centred around squeezing the best from every bit of content whilst positioning you as an industry leader.
Jamie - Harrogate Neighbours – We look after older people, and we are part of the Kindness Festival, taking place at St Aidan’s School on 17 January between 11 am and 3 pm. It’s free to attend, and there is catering from Resurrected Bites. It’s a good event. Come along and support your local community.
Colleen - Alana Care requested raffle prizes for their Burns Nights event for charity - tickets and further details can be found here https://www.harrogatechamber.co.uk/business-hub/burns-night-ceilidh-2026-a-celebration-with-heart
Linda Fussell for North Yorkshire ITB Funding is available through the ITB for microbusinesses up to 250 employees. This funding is to support people returning to work and gives access to mental health support, medical support and more. It’s free to any employee and there is free training for employers about Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Closure of Meeting
Martin Mann displayed the QR code for the Mentimeter and requested that members give feedback on this meeting, either via scanning the QR code or via responding to the email that will go out tomorrow to all members giving a direct link to the questionnaire.
Ian Howard noted that the next meeting will take place on 9 Feb at Paviliions, Harrogate and noted that the AGM is on the horizon and the time has come to appoint committee members. Details about this have been circulated via email to members.
Ian Howard closed the meeting at 8 pm.
