One Yorkshire is still best option for rural heartlands – The Yorkshire Post says

They do not. They’re equally pertinent to rural areas and The Yorkshire Post was amongst the first, some five years ago, to warn that undue emphasis on city-regions would be to the probable detriment of countryside communities.

It is why this newspaper was such a strong advocate for One Yorkshire and maintains that this leadership model is still the best longer-term solution for England’s greatest and most identifiable county.

After all, one of the attractions of the region’s is the unrivalled countryside, including three iconic national parks, that is within such close proximity.

Equally, this is one reason why the housing crisis in North Yorkshire is so acute – the desire for people working in cities to live in rural idylls is continuing to price local families steeped in the countryside out of the housing market and making it harder for farmers and agriculture to prosper.

And, while much attention, at present, is on the creation of an unitary council in North Yorkshire in 2023, with the possibility of a mayor to follow, it will be imperative that the new arrangements provide a means to tackle neglected societal challenges like affordable housing.

As such, it is another reason why the Government needs a far more co-ordinated and coherent approach when it comes to devolution. Gesture politics, after all, invariably do little to solve the most pressing and basic needs of less well-off families – like a roof over their heads.

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