Public Meeting : Monday 15^th Sept 2025

“Community Governance

for Whitby & District”

Agenda

• Introduction & Updates
• Open Consultations
• Neighbourhood Plan
• Whitby Town Council (S Turner)
• Secondary School
• Whitby Harbour Court Case
• Cook Tricentennial (C Stones)
• Whitby Regatta Future Plans (J Smith)
• Whitby & district Healthcare (B McGovern)
• Community Governance for Whitby & district
• AOB
• Next Meeting

Open Consultations

• Business Workspace Survey. If you rent a workspace NYC want to hear what you think of the facilities. Closing date 14^th September 2025.
• Changes to motorhome parking (Experimental Traffic Regulation Order) consultation - Trialling a restriction on overnight motorhome parking in three coastal locations. Expected a decision will be reached by Autumn 2025. Still time to comment – WCN’s letter on website.
• Warm Homes Local Grant satisfaction survey - survey closes on 4 June 2028(?).

See the NYC Consultations web page

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/your-council/consultations-and-engagement

WCN Actioned Consultations

• North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service - Community Risk Management Plan for 2025–2029 - WCN response sent plus letter to Heads of Councils/MPs
• English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill 2024-25 : Letter sent to Alison Hume MP Scarborough and Whitby.
• Smart Meter Update Alison Hume, MP via Facebook: cellular data hubs can be installed to take advantage of 4G

Local Plan : Proposal by Holiday Let to buy green space

• Proposal by holiday let owner to buy green space land for parking / garden.
• Planning challenged by WCN (and others) on green space, nature and active travel.
• Planning withdrawn just before decision.

Adult Gaming Centre – Baxtergate Appeal Aug 25

• APL/00010/25  - Appeal Luxury Leisure - Change of use from Bank (Class E) to adult gaming centre (sui generis) 
• Previous Objectors can make additional comments, modify or withdraw comments online at https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ before 15th September 2025

NYC Area Committee

• NYC area committee only met in Whitby 3 out of last 27 meetings.
• NYC officers say “meeting has to be internet streamed and no Whitby venue for that” (and no funds to convert one).
• Cllr Chance says officers instructed that “meeting should be in Whitby when there is a key Whitby item”.
• Next meeting on Fri 19^th Sept 10:00am about “Whitby Cliff Lift” is in Scarborough!

Whitby Neighbourhood Plan

Remaining Stages done locally, as follows

• Stage 7 : Write a draft Neighbourhood Plan document
• Stage 8 : 6 week consultation on the draft plan
• Stage 9 : Review the consultation results and amend the plan
• Stage 10 : Submit the revised plan to NYC.

​

Funding now being provided by WTC to allow the completion of the Neighbourhood Plan.

WNP : Non-Designated Heritage Assets

The assets/groups we require further information on are as follows, please contact us, but we need reference documentation to back up any claims, plus old photographs:

​

• West Cliff Primary School
• Whitby Yards - Drying areas (group)
• Spital Beck Historic Industrial Area (group)
• Commemorative Plaques (group)
• ArtDeco-style Paddling Pool & toilet block (group)
• Clara’s, Esplanade Crescent
• Passenger Bus Shelters (group)
• Ruswarp Bridge
• Second World War Pre-fabs (group)

Whitby Secondary School Update

• Gareth Davies to continue as Head Teacher since no appointment made.
• David Bradley has had no response from MP re sale of Eskdale site.
• Gareth Davies agrees “one-site solution for Whitby School would be the best way forward and that Airy Hill offers the best resource in terms of outdoor space for PE – and the opportunity to develop facilities for sport in the community.”

Community Governance for Whitby & District:

Past, Present and Future?

Whitby:

Urban settlement in a sparsely populated rural area (includes Berwick, Ilfracombe, Minehead, Mablethorpe, Penrith)

Wholly surrounded on land by a NYM National Park, but under different planning authority – NYC’s Scarborough Area.

Community Governance : Past

1894 – 1974:

• Whitby Urban District Council (1894–1974) : Town of Whitby & locality of Briggswath
• Whitby Rural District Council (1894–1974) : Governed the larger rural area surrounding but excluding Whitby, including Danby, Fylingdales, and Mulgrave.
• Both disbanded in 1974 as part of a wider local government reorganisation

​

After 1974:

• The former areas of both Whitby Urban and Rural Districts became part of the larger Scarborough Borough Council, & North Yorkshire County Council

​

Community Governance : Present

• 2023 Unitary Council: Local government reorganisation – North Yorkshire Council (NYC), Whitby forming part of the Scarborough District for planning.
• NYC Cllrs: The areas covered by the old Urban & Rural District councils have four representatives:
• Whitby: Cllr Neil Swannick (Whitby Streonshalh) & Cllr Phil Trumper (Whitby West)
• District: Cllr David Chance (Danby & Mulgrave) & Cllr Clive Pearson (Esk Valley & Coast).

Community Governance : Present (continued)

• Functional geographic area: consists of 4 NYC divisions formerly part of SBC Northern Area, and previously Whitby UDC & RDC, with the Local Plans based on 1 housing market, 1 Travel to Work Area (TTWA) and 1 school catchment area.
• 2024 Combined Authority: NYC together with City of York Council form the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA) in 2024
• North York Moors National Park: Local planning authority for National Park area excluding Whitby & District not in NYMNP. Since 1994, all new housing outside the larger settlements in the Park has been restricted to local occupancy or principal residence, whereas Whitby / Sandsend now 35 to 45% second/holiday homes.

Local Governance Issues

• Local government re-organisation: Whitby planning controlled by NYC Scarborough Borough Planning officers, but development restricted due to NYMNP bordering three sides of the area, whilst Marine Management borders the fourth - all having an input into planning controls.
• Location: Whitby placed with Scarborough as one constituency area, whereas Filey comes under Thirsk and Malton constituency. Filey has much more in common with Scarborough than Whitby.
• Housing Market: NYC Local Plan placed Whitby housing market into the Coastal Housing Market Area - “House prices appear to be broadly equal [between Whitby and Scarborough / Filey]”! “There is also a migratory flow along the coast, suggesting they could be treated as a single area”. Whitby area situation differs markedly from Scarborough / Filey. Average Sold House Price : Scarb £206k, Whitby £265k. Primary flow along the coast from Whitby is northwards (not mentioned in the report). Did not consider Whitby Housing Needs Assessment report.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

English Devolution / Community Empowerment Bill 24-25

• Local government plays an essential role in convening local partners around neighbourhoods to ensure that community voices are represented and people have influence over their place and their valued community assets.
• Expectation that new councils take a proactive / innovative approach to neighbourhood involvement and community governance so that citizens are empowered.
• Will empower communities to have a voice in local decision by introducing a requirement on all local authorities in England to establish effective neighbourhood governance.
• Empower ward councillors to take a greater leadership role in driving forward the priorities of their communities.
• Help to move decision-making closer to residents, so decisions are made by people who understand local needs.
• Additionally, developing neighbourhood-based approaches will provide opportunities to organise public services to meet local needs better.

English Devolution / Community Empowerment Bill 24-25 Continued

• Community Right to Buy strengthened, giving greater rights to communities to be involved in their local issues.
• Sporting Assets of Community Value to be introduced – thereby protecting them against redevelopment
• Upwards only rent review clauses banned for commercial leases, to drive growth and avoid vacant/unused properties which blight high streets (new and renewed leases.)

English Devolution / Community Empowerment Bill 2024-25

To truly live up to its name, the Bill must go further by granting more power to local people.

Do we urge policymakers to:

• Ensure communities have a hand in the design and delivery of public services with ‘A Community Right to Shape Public Services’.
• Trust community organisations to decide how public funds are spent with ‘A Community Right to Control Investment’.
• Enable local people to play an equal and active role in neighbourhood governance arrangements, drawing on our ‘Community Covenants’ principles.

What Local Governance do we have?

• Whitby Town Council (WTC) - trying to appoint third Town Clerk in a year. Preparing Draft Neighbourhood Plan - covers Whitby Parish only for planning purposes if voted in by residents (not likely to be available until 2026/27)
• NYC Anchor Organisation: The system aims to have “place-rooted organisations in principal service towns that serve a wider hinterland”.
• increase community resilience for both good times and in emergency situations
• increase local capacity to deliver services by utilising local partnerships and alliances
• create or support opportunities for more residents to be involved in local, social action which contributes to the “five ways to well-being”.
• Whitby - “Flash Arts” aka “Whitby Community Alliance”? – no visibility whether they have applied for funding for:
• Flowergate/Skinner Street/West Cliff project
• Baxtergate Regeneration project
• NYC Scarborough & Whitby Area Committee - no suitable venue in Whitby!

​

What governance is needed?

• Better governance for Whitby or Whitby & District outside NYMNP - but what? Eskdaleside-cum-Ugglebarnby (inc. Sleights), Lythe (inc. Sandsend), and Newholm-cum-Dunsley also have areas both inside and outside the park, meaning their councils deal with two sets of regulations).
• Whitby identified as a “Key Service Centre” under NYC Local Plan
• Community Covenants: these are formal power-sharing agreements between councils and local communities that give people the opportunity to shape what happens in their neighbourhoods – e.g Market Drayton

Any suggestions?

Any Other Business

Does anyone know the reason behind this notice?

​

Why a survey for Hinderwell Parish and not others?

Next WCN Public Meeting

Monday 20^th October 2025

Topic : to be confirmed

Whitby Community Network CIC�“Campaigning on the problems facing Whitby & District”

Keep in touch

Website: https://whitbycommunitynetwork.org

Subscribe to newsletter and meeting notifications.

​

Follow us on

Facebook https://facebook.com/whitbycommunitynetwork

Instagram https://instagram.com/whitbycommunitynetwork

X/Twitter @WhitbyCommunity