North Yorkshire Planning & Building
Contacts Directory

Formed on 1 April 2023 by merging the former North Yorkshire County Council with Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough, and Selby District Councils. The council handles planning outside the two national park boundaries. Pre-application advice available for more complex proposals.

York has one of the most complex historic planning environments in England. The city walls, Minster and much of the centre are World Heritage Site candidate status. Extensive Conservation Areas, a very high listed building density, and a requirement for archaeological evaluation on many sites in the city centre. Pre-application advice strongly recommended. Roman, Viking and medieval archaeology is encountered regularly during groundworks.

Important: If your site is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, submit your planning application to the YDNPA, not North Yorkshire Council. The park extends into Cumbria and Lancashire in addition to North Yorkshire. Permitted development rights are more restricted within the national park. Traditional stone construction and local vernacular design are expected.

Important: If your site is within the North York Moors National Park, submit your planning application to the NYMNPA, not North Yorkshire Council. The park extends to the coast around Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay. Permitted development rights are more restricted. Traditional stone construction and design sensitive to moorland landscapes is expected.

North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council both operate building control services. Building Regulations apply throughout the area, including within the national park boundaries. You may also use a Registered Building Control Approver anywhere in North Yorkshire.

York office. North Yorkshire has an exceptional concentration of heritage: York city itself, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Rievaulx Abbey, Castle Howard, Whitby Abbey, Skipton Castle and hundreds of listed buildings across the county. Any development near a scheduled monument, listed building or conservation area should involve early pre-application consultation.

Flood Incident Line: 0345 988 1188 (24hr). The Vale of York has extensive flood risk from the Ouse, Derwent, Ure, Nidd and Swale. York itself is susceptible to flooding - the 2000 and 2015 events caused major damage to Skeldergate, Fulford and Skelton. Flood Zones 2 and 3 are extensive in the vales. Coastal erosion is also a major issue on the North Yorkshire coast at Filey, Scarborough and Whitby.

Some remote areas and parts of the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors may have private water supplies - check with your supplier. Build-over agreements required within 3 metres of a public sewer.

Power cuts: 105. Remote upland areas can require longer connection lead times and sometimes off-grid solutions where the grid is not economically accessible.

Gas emergency: 0800 111 999. Many rural areas and villages in the Dales and Moors have no mains gas - oil, LPG and increasingly heat pumps are common alternatives. Use LSBUD before excavating.

Notify HSE of notifiable construction projects under CDM Regulations at least 2 weeks before work begins.