Mayor sets out 10-year plan for rural communities

The mayor of York and North Yorkshire has launched a 10-year rural action plan which he hopes will "turbo-charge" countryside communities.

Speaking at the Great Yorkshire Show, metro mayor David Skaith said the strategy, which includes building 5,000 homes and allocating an extra £1m for skills development, is designed to help rural economies grow and develop.

Skaith said: "A lot of young people are struggling to stay in York and North Yorkshire, which means a lot of businesses and industries are struggling to employ the people they need

"So it's how we join strategies up to make sure our rural communities grow as quickly, and as well, as our cities and urban areas."

Officials from York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority say the 5,000 homes will be "delivered" by working with councils and developers to "unlock" stalled sites.

The authority said the majority of the plan's actions have already been funded through exisiting budgets.

"Where there are long-term ambitions we will explore alternative funding sources, whether through working with central government or the private sector," a spokesperson said.

Skaith said his housing strategy is to deliver 60,000 new homes over the next 10 years with "at least 5,000" in rural areas.

"In a rural context, three, four or five homes can keep a rural community alive.

"They keep young families here, they keep the schools open, the pubs open," he added.

Asked how those homes go to a community's "next generation," and not holiday home owners, Skaith said second home ownership had "destroyed" some areas.

He welcomed decisions by North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council to charge double council tax on second homes.

Skaith said: "So it is really down to the two local authorities. But we are working with the planners, the two national parks and registered housing providers to say 'our challenge here is affordable homes - we haven't built enough of them'."

Skaith's plan also includes a pledge to upgrade rural infrastructure by "tackling persistent digital and mobile blackspots."

Skaith said this will be done by working with providers, local authorities, and "really innovative" tech companies.

He said: "There was a project in Cornwall where a church worked with a media company to use the church tower as antennas to improve connectivity.

"It can be done. In every community there is a village hall, a church, a sports building, but it hasn't been pushed enough in our region.

"We want to be that trailblazer, the place that shows to government, this is how it's done."

Responding to Skaith's plan, William Maughan, chair of the National Farmers' Union (NFU) North regional board, said the 5,000 homes plan "has to be positive."

Countryside communities are "often left behind," he said, on issues like affordable housing and fuel poverty and connectivity.

"We often seem to be at the bottom of the pile, so it's interesting that he's talking about this, it'll be interesting to see how he'll deliver it," Maughan added.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said it was "a real frustration" that in many rural communities, people are unable to use mobile phones.

He said: "We are expected to be adopting the latest technology, so the two just don't go together. So trying to really get on top of that will be important."

Bradshaw said a mayoral pledge to tackle rural crime is something NFU members would be "very keen" to see delivered.

"It's so personal to a farmer. Rural crime happens in their home, where they live. All the time you're on edge from hare coursing, fly-tipping. It really feels like you're under attack," he added.

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