A joint initiative by North Yorkshire County Council’s Countryside Service and English Heritage to shape the County’s future landscape is underway – after confirmation of a successful bid for a £90,000 national funding package.
As one of the largest minerals producing areas in the country, North Yorkshire County Council is currently preparing its Minerals Core Strategy, a long term plan for sustainable mineral working. The funding from English Heritage – the Government’s historic environment advisors – will go towards the Council’s ‘Managing Landscape Change’ project, and will help it gather the information needed to ensure that historic environments, landscape and biodiversity are taken into account in future minerals policy.
County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, Executive Member for Countryside Services said: “The funding from English Heritage will help the council plan the long term future of our iconic landscape which we – and the many visitors to our county – appreciate, as well as boosting the future local economy.”
“It is good to see local and national organisations working in partnership so well, pooling resources to provide such important public and environmental benefits.
North Yorkshire County Council’s Countryside Service and Minerals Planning team will be working with consultants Capita Symonds Ltd and Oxford Archaeology to undertake the project, which will run until February 2012.
