Whitby Parish has significant problems with second homes and holiday lets impacting on education, employment and other sectors. A Neighbourhood Plan started in Jan 2024 by Whitby Town Council, chaired by ourselves.
With up to 44.5% of residences in Whitby with no permanent resident, and with houses unaffordable to buy for the majority due to low local earnings, couple this with very limited space due to the National Park boundary and you begin to understand the problems in Whitby.
Within the rest of the district the situation is not much different in terms of affordability, with local salaries being inadequate to compete with the holiday market.
The Whitby district has major transport challenges with public transport particularly poor. The sole rail commuter line has very limited slow services. The bus network leaves many areas without a service, and is infrequent elsewhere. The road system is busy with holiday traffic for much of the year.
The district has many primary schools short of pupils, and a recent secondary school merger due to reducing numbers. SEN provision is lacking, A level courses are very limited, and adult skills training is virtually non-existent. The knock on effects of inflated house prices and an ageing demographic.
Whitby’s historic harbour, at the mouth of the River Esk, has seen centuries of shipbuilding, whaling, fishing, and more recently pleasure boats. The harbour’s infrastructure is ageing and in need of urgent repair, as well as needing to be prepared for more frequent adverse weather.
Whitby has well below minimum standards of green space for residents and visitor to enjoy, with areas continually being built on. The district as a whole contains some of the most beautiful parts of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park.
The health of residents in coastal communities like Whitby & district suffers from deprivation. With no local hospital having direct public transport connections, access to adequate health care is limited.
Whitby and district has extensive walking paths, though often of poor quality, as well as a lack of road crossings. Cycle infrastructure is very limited resulting in the lowest uptake of cycling in the county.
Whitby & district is governed by North Yorkshire Council, as well as having low level town / parish councils. The district has arguably lost out to other areas over many years, and often has projects imposed against the wishes of residents.
The majority of residents are tired of their views being ignored. In 2023 we did our own consultation of Whitby parish residents over what they thought about their town and what should be improved.
Whitby and district is very much dependent on tourism, and needs it as part of its future. What does need to change however is that tourism should be sustainable and managed hand-in-hand with a sustainable community. If you are visiting our district, please respect the area, and make use of it’s #1 tourism website – VisitWhitby.com – run by our partners at Whitby & District Tourism Association.