A panel of experts has today published a series of recommendations to ‘level up’ poor rural areas and attract more young people to the county.
The experts are members of North Yorkshire’s Rural Commission, which was established by North Yorkshire County Council in 2019 to tackle some of the issues confronting the county.
North Yorkshire is England’s largest county. Eighty-five per cent of it is classed as very rural or super-sparse and the population density is five times below the national average.
Although employment is high, earnings are noticeably lower and the county’s workforce significantly less qualified than the national average
A total of 24 per cent of the people not working are retired compared to a national average of 13.6 per cent.
And 20 per cent of North Yorkshire’s rural areas have no broadband connection compared to 7 per cent in urban areas.
Today the commission released what it described as “radical and hard hitting” recommendations to address these issues. Read the full report here.
Ageing population
The commission highlighted the economic challenge of having an ageing population by estimating that if North Yorkshire had the same percentage of young working adults as the national average, the area would be £1.5 billion better off annually. The report says:
“Affordable rural housing must become a reality rather than an aspiration and this will require more houses in rural and remote areas rather than on the edges of market towns.”
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Devolution essential to success
The report also describes devolution as essential for helping to level up the North Yorkshire rural economy
It says central government must ensure additional powers and funding for the devolved authority so it has enough capacity financially to make a difference.
It also calls for the creation of a task force consisting of civil servants, academics, scientists, rural businesses and local communities to advise the devolved authority on implementing the recommendations in this report.
The Very Reverend John Dobson DL, Dean of Ripon and chair of the commission, said:
“The missing generation of younger workers in the county hinders the ability of North Yorkshire to achieve the full potential of an effective economy.
“North Yorkshire needs a strong devolved authority to tackle the problems faced by its rural and remote areas.”
The report describes digital connection as a human right and sets out plans for a mutual bank as a way to invest in sparsely populated areas.
Dean John added:
“We now look to local and national government and many partners and stakeholders to take ownership of these recommendations and make this vision a reality.
“The future of rural communities is at stake.”
