Background

We launched Let’s Talk North Yorkshire in autumn 2022 to undertake the biggest ever countywide conversation to understand how you feel about your local areas and what your priorities are. Download the Let's Talk Local report from the North Yorkshire Council website.

We wanted to use this information to build on the work previously done by the eight separate councils operating across North Yorkshire and to inform the new North Yorkshire Council’s decisions, policies and services going forward. 

We are the geographically largest council in the country, with a mix of rural, urban and coastal communities, all of which will have common challenges but also competing and differing needs. Therefore, a strong community voice is essential.  Let’s Talk North Yorkshire is one way of empowering that voice and is a clear commitment to listening to you and our communities. 

We want to thank everyone who took the time to give us your views by attending one of the 214 engagement events held across the county or by completing one of our online or paper surveys.

Summary

We have set out a short summary of what you told us.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of you are happy or satisfied with your local area as a place to live and provide valuable information on what you like most about your local area and what you would like to see improved. 

The things that people like most about their local areas are that they are friendly and safe and clean and tidy and provide places to meet, have play parks and sports facilities, have a range of activities and things to do, and have a range of shops. Fast broadband and public transport are least likely to be mentioned in terms of what people like about their local area.

Public transport is the most common improvement people would like to see to their local area with 53% of responses, followed by addressing the cost of living (32%), improving health (32%) and dealing with anti-social behaviour (30%).

People were asked what the new council should prioritise over the next three years and the areas or themes most commonly ranked in the top three priorities in the Let’s Talk Local survey are: value for money, health and wellbeing, cost of living, public transport and climate change.

You told us that the key issues facing communities across North Yorkshire include a lack of public transport, traffic, parking, cost of living impacts, difficulties in accessing GPs and NHS dentists, a lack of affordable and appropriate housing, and concerns about the environment. These are significant and very complex issues which will require collective action by many partners and agencies over a period of time, alongside realistic funding for a large rural county.

How we are using the data

We have already made this data available working in many services across the council and Councillors and it will support development of future strategies, services and future engagement with you.  

You can download the full report from North Yorkshire Council's website.

If you need the report in another format, please email LetsTalk@northyorks.gov.uk.