Work with us on the Farm Collaboration Fund
The Combined Authority is bidding for up to £1 million a year from DEFRA to fund 15 farm collaboration clusters across the region. We are seeking existing groups, land managers, and independent facilitators to join the bid.
It would provide an initial investment into farm advice and collaboration in the region that is led and shaped by regional priorities. It offers an opportunity to work further with DEFRA and demonstrate our ability to deliver for the farming sector, which could support future devolution.
Rural Action Plan
Our Rural Action Plan is a landmark ten-year strategy to support rural areas in York and North Yorkshire.
People who live in those rural areas face higher than average living costs, older and colder housing stock and persistent digital connectivity blackspots. Those challenges come at a time when farms, which make up the majority of rural areas (68%), struggle to turn a profit.
Why have we created the Rural Action Plan?
Across York and North Yorkshire, 94% of our land is classed as rural, encompassing 3,000 square miles of market towns, national parks, coastlines, and agricultural heartlands.
While our rural region drives world-class innovation in food, clean energy, and creative industries, local communities face distinct challenges: higher living costs, aging housing stock, limited transport links, and digital blackspots.
Through the Rural Action Plan (2026–2035), the Mayor and Combined Authority are embedding a mandatory "rural lens" across all regional policymaking—ensuring every investment delivers fairness, growth, and long-term sustainability for our countryside.
Our 2035 commitments:
At least 5,000 New Rural Homes: Prioritising affordable, community-led housing in towns and villages, alongside devolved retrofit funding to tackle fuel poverty.
20% Rural Economic Growth: Creating higher-skilled, better-paid jobs by driving growth in food innovation, clean energy, and creative industries.
Farming & Environmental Sustainability: Helping more than half of farms achieve economic sustainability. This will come partly by linking them directly to public sector supply chains like schools and hospitals.
Enhanced Infrastructure: Eradicating digital and mobile blackspots, deploying targeted rural crime prevention, and investing in transport to make it easier for people in rural areas to walk, wheel and cycle.
Mayor David Skaith's ambition for rural communities
"For too long, too many of our rural areas have been left behind and face deep challenges, without the tools to fix them.
"We need to turn them into places of genuine opportunity, where more people can afford to put down roots, find good work, and build a future in the places they love.
"Our Rural Action Plan is a new approach, and it’s a promise to give our communities a powerful voice and ensure they can shape their story."
Our Expert Advisory Panel
To guide our farming strategy, Mayor David Skaith re-established Grow Yorkshire as the Combined Authority’s expert advisory panel, appointing Jan Thornton MBE as Chair.
• Peer Knowledge & Audits: Grow Yorkshire has funded 100+ farm environmental assessments and developed specialised training programs.
• Joined-Up Partnerships: Working alongside the NFU, CLA, and Yorkshire Agricultural Society to align public sector food procurement (schools and hospitals) directly with local farm supply chains.
• Resilience & Innovation: Backing regenerative agriculture and agri-tech to build profitable, low-carbon farm models.
Meet the Chair of our Expert Advisory Panel
Jan Thornton MBE is the Chair of York and North Yorkshire's Food, Farming and Rural Affairs Expert Advisory Panel.
In addition to chairing the YNYCA Food Farming and Rural Affairs Expert Advisory Panel, Jan Thornton MBE is also Vice Chair of the Yorkshire Food, Farming & Rural Network, Vice Chair of the Fix Our Food Commission and a Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commissioner.
Previous roles include Vice Chair of ACRE and Community First Yorkshire.
