North Yorkshire plan maps where new homes may go

North Yorkshire Council has set out a proposed roadmap for its first countywide Local Plan, a document that will guide where new homes, jobs and supporting infrastructure could be placed across the county.

The timetable is due to be considered by the council’s executive committee on Tuesday, 16 June 2026. If progressed, it would put North Yorkshire on course to adopt the plan by the end of 2029, under the Government’s revised local plan system.

The work comes as North Yorkshire faces a housing target of more than 4,000 new homes a year. Council leaders say the plan must identify land for development while protecting landscape quality, historic heritage, and the character of local communities.

A countywide plan to replace district strategies

The new Local Plan will replace the adopted plans previously used by the former district and borough council areas of Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.

That change matters because planning decisions across North Yorkshire have until now been shaped by several inherited local policies. A single countywide strategy would create one framework for housing, employment land, transport, infrastructure and environmental protection.

The plan is expected to influence where future housing estates, business sites, roads, schools, health facilities and green infrastructure are considered. It will not approve individual developments by itself, but it will help determine which locations are treated as suitable for growth.

Housing pressure and infrastructure demands

The Government announced changes to the national local plan system in November 2025, with the aim of speeding up plan preparation and helping councils meet housing requirements.

For North Yorkshire, the most visible pressure is the annual target of more than 4,000 new homes. That is a marked increase on previous targets and means the council must assess how growth can be distributed across rural areas, market towns, coastal communities and larger settlements.

Infrastructure is likely to be one of the central public concerns. New housing allocations can create demand for school places, GP services, drainage, roads, public transport and utilities. The council says the plan will need to align land for homes and jobs with the infrastructure required to support them.

The countywide plan will also sit alongside town-specific regeneration and public realm decisions, including Scarborough harbour upgrade proposals where heritage, employment and public space are already part of the local debate.

Heritage and landscape protections in the timetable

North Yorkshire’s plan will have to balance housing delivery with protections for the county’s landscape and historic environment. The council has said the process will address climate change, support healthy and sustainable communities, and protect the quality of life in local places.

Cllr Mark Crane, executive member for open to business, said a significant amount of work had already been carried out on the first Local Plan and that previous public feedback would be used as the council aligns the process with the new national framework.

“We are still at an early stage in this process and it is vital that our communities and stakeholders continue to play a central role in shaping the plan,” he said.

He added that residents would have further opportunities to comment on what the plan should include, where new homes and jobs should be located, and how North Yorkshire’s quality of life can be protected and enhanced.

Consultation work already carried forward

In May 2025, the council held an eight-week consultation asking residents and stakeholders about sustainable growth, housing needs, healthy communities, climate change, transport, infrastructure and heritage.

The council says that feedback, including comments on the needs of individual towns and villages, will be carried into the updated Local Plan process.

Further consultations are expected over the coming years as the draft timetable moves through the required stages. The executive committee will consider the roadmap and accompanying report on 16 June 2026 before the plan progresses toward the Government’s 30-month preparation and adoption framework.

Source: North Yorkshire Council