‘Rural areas must decide own destiny’

Commission adds voice to devolution debate as young desert ageing region

RURAL COMMUNITIES must be given the opportunity to shape their own destiny and the Government must hand over a raft of powers to them, as a generation of young people has been lost in North Yorkshire, commissioners behind a landmark report have warned.

The profound impact of the county’s ageing population has been laid bare in the long-awaited findings of the North Yorkshire Rural Commission, with a host of wide-ranging issues leaving the demographics heavily skewed to the over-65s.

The report, which The Yorkshire Post has been given exclusive access to, has revealed that a lack of younger workers in North Yorkshire has left a £1.4bn financial hole in the county’s economy.

It has been estimated that if North Yorkshire had the same percentage of younger adults aged between 20 and 44 as the national average, there would be an additional 45,551 people living in the county.

The commission’s report blamed ingrained and complex issues for the scarcity of the younger generation, including a lack of affordable housing, school closures due to falling pupil numbers and a decline in services such as pubs and shops because of dwindling numbers of customers.

However, an overriding theme which the commission’s findings have identified is the need for the Government to provide a longawaited multi-billion pound devolution deal for North Yorkshire.

The report has stressed that decision-making powers for key issues such as education, transport infrastructure and economic investment have to be shifted away from the capital and to the county’s local authorities.

The Dean of Ripon, John Dobson, who is the commission’s chairman, said: “The issues which have been identified in the report have long affected rural communities not just in North Yorkshire, but across the country.

“If there was an easy solution to them, then they would have resolved. However, we have attempted to take a fresh look at these issues and provide solutions to them – they might not always be popular, but they are a way of ensuring that North Yorkshire’s rural communities have a sustainable future.”

The independent commission, which is the first of its kind to be established, has called on North Yorkshire County Council to launch an advisory task force to include civil servants, rural business, banking and industry, academic and scientific expertise and communities to take forward its recommendations.

Among the most radical proposals are a levy on the owners of second homes, and an overhaul of the Government’s funding formula for both education and housing. A mutual bank has also been suggested to drive forward investment in North Yorkshire, while the county’s economy needs to be focused far more on the green energy sector.

The commission also said the UK’s exit from the European Union has seen a need for new funding streams for farming and public transport.

The Government insists its new £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund will “directly support communities” in urban and rural areas.