On 27/11/2025 North Yorkshire Council posted a Public Notice, as follows [link]
Local Government Act 1972 – Section 123(2A)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to Section 123(2A) of the Local Government Act 1972 that The North Yorkshire Council intends to dispose of (by way of freehold sale) an area of public open space at Byland Road / Rievaulx Road, Whitby (“the Land”) shown edged red on the plan below. In accordance with the provisions of Section 123(2A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council will consider any objections to the proposed disposal of the Land which are received within 14 days of the date of the first publication of this notice and which are addressed to: Bryan Walker, Principal Estates Manager, North Yorkshire Council, County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8AD, or by email to estatesteam@northyorks.gov.uk Any objections or representations made within the time set out in this notice will be considered by the Council before a decision is made. Copies of the plan of the proposed Land to be disposed of can be made available upon request by emailing the address above or by telephoning 01609 535714.
Open to feedback from 27/11/2025 until 11/12/2025.
The situation with Whitby greenspace has been well publicised. We have also spent the last 22 months developing a Neighbourhood Plan for the parish that explicitly protects all areas of greenspace, including this one. Our response to this proposed sell off was as follows (submitted on 29/11/2025), sent to NYC Estates, NYC CEO, Cllr Les, Cllr Swannick, Cllr Trumper, and NYC Director of Public Health.
Proposed disposal of an area of public open space, Whitby: Byland Road / Rievaulx Road
Whitby Community Network CIC objects in the strongest terms to this proposed disposal.
NPPF 103 states “… Planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments (qualitative and quantitative) of the need for open space, sport and recreation facilities. …”).
We firstly state that North Yorkshire Council (NYC) do not possess a robust and up-to-date assessment of the green space of Whitby parish. The most recent green space audit was performed in 2014 by the now defunct Scarborough Borough Council (SBC). The SBC (2014) assessment report was not robust, in that it contained various errors – incorrect per person scaling of secondary school sports space, double accounting for Helredale Playing field, inadequate allowance for the “accessibility” of a green space, and so on. The report simply treated “accessibility” as the distance to get to it, and not how accessible and inclusive it was, for example to elderly / disabled people. With respect to accessibility, the Whitby parish has double the national average of over 65 residents, so ask yourself the question – would a 10ha portion of green space on a cliff at an incline of 40 degrees be of the same value as a 10ha gently rolling country park?
The SBC (2014) assessment is not up-to-date in that several tracts of green space have been built on by NYC in the intervening years, yet the report has never been updated to take account of this.
NPPF 104 requires that any designated green space not have its use changed or built on, unless the robust, up-to-date assessment mentioned above shows that it is surplus to requirements.
The only robust, up-to-date assessment of Whitby green space is provided by Whitby Community Network CIC and not NYC. Even ignoring accessibility and inclusivity of green space (as mentioned above) this clearly shows a net DEFICIT of 10.9ha of green space (deficit of 5.4ha of Natural, 6.2ha of Urban Parks, and 1.0ha of Sports with surplus of 1.7ha of Amenity), relative to the minimum standard. Once we take in to account accessibility and inclusivity for the resident and visitor, this shows a net DEFICIT of 22.9ha of green space (deficit of 10.9ha of Natural, 6.2ha of Urban Parks, and 7.5ha of Sports, with surplus of 1.7ha of Amenity).
The forthcoming Whitby Neighbourhood Plan will be requiring protection of all Whitby green space, given the extremely poor provision in this area, and this is one such green space included in that required protection. Going against that would represent overriding the requirements of the parish, and question the position of North Yorkshire Council in representing the best interests of the residents.
If we look at other recognised assessment mechanisms for green space, on the Natural England “Green Infrastructure”
- There are several areas in Whitby that fail the AGst Doorstep standard (0.5ha within 200m) – notably large parts of Stakesby, Castle Park, Mayfield, Railway, Eskdale.
- The majority of the residential areas in Whitby fail the AGst Local standard (2.0ha within 300m).
- All of the Whitby urban area fails the AGst Neighbourhood standard (10.0ha within 1km).
Similarly for the Fields In Trust “Green Space Index” (broadly similar to the AGst Doorstep standard) the majority of Whitby urban area is below the minimum standard.
Removal of this area at Rievaulx Road would only cause further areas of the town to fail these standards.
We have thus demonstrated that this green space is NOT SURPLUS TO REQUIREMENTS.
NYC has recognised in many reports the benefit that can be obtained from access to green space, and the NYC Director of Public Health has stated “There have been positive impacts from having accessible, local green spaces, which have supported both physical and mental health and wellbeing”. Whitby has some of the lowest health outcomes in the whole of the county, with a widely publicised “coastal health crisis”. Life expectancies of both Whitby NYC divisions are in the lower reaches for the whole county, with significant areas with multiple indices of deprivation. It is essential that green space in such areas be both protected and enhanced to benefit the health and well-being of the community.
Local Plan Rule HC 14 b iii) requires “a replacement open space of an equal or higher quantity and quality can be provided in a nearby accessible location”. There are deficits in all categories of green space, and NYC have no published plan for how they aim to get Whitby parish up to the minimum standard (quantity as well as quality) of green space, as a result they cannot offer a viable alternate site in a nearby accessible location that would replace the green space being proposed to be disposed of.
As a consequence the equivalent Local Plan Rule HC 14 prevents any such change of use of this green space, and any ignoring of such would be the subject to legal challenge.
Going further, Local Plan Policy ENV 8 states “The value and strategic role of the Green Infrastructure corridors within the Local Plan area will be protected and enhanced …”. This greenspace provides a green corridor between Pannett Park and the Stakesby residential area. It has been used for decades by local people for recreation (evidence is available for this assertion). As such it is of significant value locally, and to dispose of it would devalue the area of the town. It provides areas for local children to play, as well as for dog walking (remember, dog walking is prohibited in the nearby Pannett Park). Such areas should be enhanced, not diminished.
Local Plan Policy ENV8 continues “Developments that will have an unacceptable impact on Green Infrastructure will be resisted unless other policy considerations within this Local Plan indicate otherwise”. By disposing of this green space, any proposed development will clearly have an unacceptable impact on Green infrastructure, and there are no other considerations to indicate otherwise.
Regarding the intended use of this open space (a joint venture with Lovell Homes), Whitby has no need of more housing at the expense of green space. It simply needs better use of the existing housing. Since 2011 there have been the order of 1300 dwellings given planning approval in the Whitby area (either completed, or awaiting construction), and between 2011 and 2021 the population of the town reduced, with up to 44.5% of dwellings with no permanent resident (cf Housing Needs Assessment for the Whitby Neighbourhood Plan)! There are the order of 700 dwellings currently for sale in Whitby and within 5 miles of the town centre. Newly built dwellings are not selling; there is little demand. To destroy yet another green space in an area with significant deprivation is frankly deplorable.
Yours faithfully,
Whitby Community Network CIC
