North Yorkshire Council are currently consulting on their new Local Plan. This is the first consultation for the emerging Local Plan, which aims to gain the public’s view on:

• The priorities and issues that the North Yorkshire Local Plan can help to address;
• What the places and spaces across the North Yorkshire Local Plan area will be like in the future; and
• How the new Local Plan can influence the places and spaces across North Yorkshire.

As part of the consultation documents, North Yorkshire Council have published a Settlement Hierarchy Background Paper, setting out their proposed settlement hierarchy for the area, which identifies the functions of settlements considering both existing and required housing, economic and commercial services and facilities. The settlement hierarchy will help to inform the spatial strategy of the emerging Local Plan and is proposed to consider the following tiers: 

• Major Towns – 2 settlements (Harrogate and Scarborough), which are expected to receive the highest proportion of growth throughout the emerging Local Plan period. 
• Key Service Centres – 9 settlements including Selby, Knaresborough, Skipton Northallerton and Ripon among others. 
• Local Service Centres – 14 settlements including Stokesley, Bedale, Richmond, Filey and Pickering, and others.
• Neighbourhood Service Centre – 32 settlements including Brompton, South Milford, Leyburn, Gargrave, Masham and others. 
• Small settlements – 120 settlements, classified as a settlement with a population of 300 -1,500 residents. 
• Countryside – 362 settlements, classified as any settlement with a population of fewer than 300. 

The consultation is currently open and will run over a period of 8 weeks from Monday 19th May until midnight on Tuesday 15th July 2025. 
The Council welcomes all comments through their consultation portal. Should you require any assistance in preparing a response or require any advice on the proposed growth strategy and how this may impact your site or interests our dedicated Planning Consultancy team would be pleased to assist (contact details available below).

There will be further opportunities to comment as the Local Plan progresses. North Yorkshire’s Local Plan timetable is set out below: 

• Public Consultation on the North Yorkshire Local Plan: Our First Conversation – Issues and Options - Spring/ Summer 2025;
• Public consultation on preferred options for the Local Plan  – Autumn 2026;
• Publication of the pre-submission version of the Local Plan – Autumn 2027;
• Submission of the Local Plan to the secretary of state for examination - 2028;
• Examination of the Local Plan - 2028-2029; and 
• Adoption of the Local Plan – 2029.

North Yorkshire Council are also currently consulting on a ‘Call for Sites’ which provides an opportunity to put forward any available development sites for housing, employment, leisure or other uses, or promote an existing allocated site. Our Planning Consultancy team can help to review sites, consider land opportunities and assist in drafting a comprehensive representation to submit to North Yorkshire Council’s consultations. Should you require any assistance or have any queries, please contact the team (details below) to discuss.

Laura Dixon
Director - Head of Planning Consultancy North East & Yorkshire
07395 885 515
LDixon@lsh.co.uk

Jess Nicholson
Assistant Planner - Planning Consultancy
07566 777 121
JNicholson@lsh.co.uk