East Riding’s Future Is Being Decided Now
Download our easy-to-use free guide to have your say and stand up for the countryside near you.
The East Riding of Yorkshire Council has opened a 6-week public consultation on its new Local Plan, setting out the long-term vision and strategy for future development of the East Riding over the next two decades. This is a hugely important opportunity to participate in the consultation and influence future policies that will impact the East Riding countryside for many years to come.
What is a Local Plan?
Local Plans are a statutory requirement for all Local Planning Authorities in England. Each Local Plan is a legally binding document that exists to establish certainty and control over how land is used. Amongst others, they convey:
- Which areas of land are earmarked for development: giving residents predictability over how their area might change over the next two decades
- The critical infrastructure required to support these new developments: such as GP surgeries, schools, and local green spaces
- Understanding on how the region is meeting wider government targets: like affordable house quotas and biodiversity net gain
Why should I take part?
Local Plans give local residents, parish councils, and campaign groups a statutory voice in shaping the future and character of the region. This is a hugely important opportunity to participate in the consultation and influence future policies that will impact the East Riding countryside for many years to come.
The plan is in the initial, and also the most important, scoping phase, which covers main priorities and big picture challenges for the region. Once adopted, it will become the starting point for determining local planning applications and for guiding local investment decisions. Therefore, providing your input at this stage is vital to ensure the Local Plan represents as broad a viewpoint as it can.
What areas do the plan cover?
The council has structured the official consultation into seven distinct themes, with many themes into specific sub-pillars, as follows:
- Spatial Strategy
- Homes, Places and Communities
- Delivering a Sufficient Supply of Homes
- Creating High-Quality, Sustainable Places
- Ensuring the Vitality of Town Centres
- Economy and Connectivity
- Building a Strong, Effective Economy
- Promoting Sustainable Transport
- Climate and Resources
- Sustainable Development and Climate Change
- Facilitating the Sustainable Use of Minerals
- Managing Waste
- Securing Clean Energy and Water
- Environment
- Managing Flood Risk and Coastal Change
- Pollution, Public Protection and Security
- Conserving and Enhancing the Natural Environment
- Conserving and Enhancing the Historic Environment
- Sites
- Plan-making, evidence and engagement
- Environmental Assessment
- Infrastructure Delivery Plan – Baseline
- How Will We Engage With You and Other Stakeholders?
You do not need to complete every single section to submit a response. If you’re short on time, you can focus purely on the topics or local areas that matter most to you. However, to ensure countryside protection, high-grade farmland, and community needs are fairly represented across the entire plan, we strongly encourage you to comment on as many sections as you can.
Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire / Credit: Shutterstock
Protecting ‘On The Edge’ local green spaces
As you may have seen from our On The Edge campaign, countryside sitting on the outskirts of our towns and villages is highly threatened, yet highly valuable in terms of access to nature. We want to see binding commitments to preserve and enhance access routes for people of all abilities.
Wetwang, East Riding of Yorkshire / Credit: Victoria Russell
Safeguarding Our Best Farmland
With such a high percentage of prime agricultural land we want to see explicit policy that safeguards our ‘best and most versatile’ soils and, with over a quarter of land at the highest risk of flooding, real solutions that promote flood resilience.
Yorkshire Wolds / Credit: Martin Sepion / Unsplash
Championing National Landscapes
With such a significant increase in housing targets, and competing demands for land use, we want to see policy that prioritises brownfield sites first, mandates rooftop solar for all new developments, and sites that reflect existing character of neighbouring land whilst being genuinely affordable through local occupancy clauses.
We’re making responding easier
We know finding the time to wade through Local Plan documents can be difficult, that’s why we’ve created a simple step-by-step action guide to help you have your say. With responses to every section, you can simply copy and paste the areas that resonate most with you, and convert into your own words. Download our free guide below.
Hurry – you only have until the 31st August to share your views.
Your voice really does count. We urge you to respond to this scoping consultation and call on the Council to adopt these vital countryside safeguards. The more people that respond to this consultation and speak up for the countryside, the stronger the case will be for the Council to recognise and respond appropriately (all Councils are required to evidence to the Planning Inspectorate how they have taken consultation responses into account).
Prefer to submit your comments straight away?
If you would like to read the consultation documents directly or submit your own response immediately without waiting for our guide, you can visit the East Riding Council Local Plan portal via the link below.
Help us Stand Up For The Countryside
CPRE North & East Yorkshire are an independent charity fighting for the countryside across our beautiful region. A donation of just £5 helps us deliver planning guides like this as well as speaking up for rural communities on the topics that matter to them. Please consider making a small donation today – you really do make a difference.
