The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is set to unveil a landmark ten-year Rural Action Plan to support countryside communities at the Great Yorkshire Show.
The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is set to launch a comprehensive new plan in a bid to boost rural communities at the Great Yorkshire Show which gets underway on Tuesday.
It will mark the very first time that the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority has established a major presence at the highly anticipated event, which is widely recognised as England's largest agricultural show.
During the event, the Combined Authority intends to use its platform to engage directly with rural communities. Representatives will drive the ongoing conversation around regional energy and economic growth by hosting two dedicated panel sessions.
In addition to these discussions, the Combined Authority is working closely with police and fire service colleagues. Together, they will use their joint presence at the agricultural show to actively promote vital safety measures and crime prevention strategies tailored specifically for rural areas.
The centrepiece of the authority's activities will take place at the Great Yorkshire Show's Innovation Zone, an area which the Combined Authority has officially sponsored for the first time. It is within this zone that Mayor David Skaith will formally unveil the new Rural Action Plan.
The plan is described as a landmark ten-year strategy designed specifically to support rural areas, which currently make up approximately ninety-four per cent of the total land across York and North Yorkshire.
Officials have highlighted that residents living in these rural locations currently face a range of significant difficulties. These include higher than average living costs, an older and colder housing stock, and persistent digital connectivity blackspots that hinder daily life.
Furthermore, these local challenges are occurring at a critical time when farms, which account for the vast majority of rural areas at sixty-eight per cent, are increasingly struggling to turn a profit.
David Skaith, the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said:
"The Great Yorkshire Show brings together the very best of our farmers and rural communities. They're the people who understand the challenges and opportunities better than anyone else, and I will take every opportunity to listen to their views. As we launch our ambitious Rural Action Plan to transform our countryside into a place of genuine opportunity, we start as we mean to go on. We're committed to giving a powerful voice to those who call these special places home."
To combat these ongoing rural challenges going forward, the Rural Action Plan outlines a series of key actions and targets for the Combined Authority to successfully meet by the year 2035.
At the very forefront of the newly announced plan is a firm commitment to deliver at least five thousand new rural homes. The ten-year strategy will prioritise affordable, community-led housing developments across various towns and villages in the region.
This significant housing push is set to be supported by a dedicated retrofit programme, which has been specifically designed to tackle the growing issue of fuel poverty in older countryside properties.
Alongside the provision of warmer homes, the ambitious plan promises to upgrade vital rural infrastructure. This includes tackling those persistent digital and mobile blackspots that continue to affect connectivity for rural residents and local businesses alike.
The strategy also includes plans for deploying targeted rural crime prevention initiatives to ensure that countryside communities remain safe and secure places to live and work.
Finally, the Combined Authority has committed to investing heavily in local transport infrastructure. The ultimate goal is to make walking, wheeling, and cycling a realistic and accessible choice for everyday journeys in the rural parts of North Yorkshire.
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