About Us
Building on Common Strengths and Skills
The Yorkshire Region has a key role to play in devising schemes and strategies, which give developers and builders a competitive advantage by adding value to the services they are offering. The region brings together 20 authorities from Yorkshire and Humber Region and helps the local authority building control departments to operate as a co-ordinated whole. The region also operates a number of annual Quality Awards Schemes, which feed into the National LABC Awards event.
Geographical Details
The region covers South Yorkshire; West Yorkshire (up to the Pennines); North Yorkshire (up to the borders of Lancashire, Cumbria, Durham and Cleveland); East Yorkshire (to the East Coast); and North Lincolnshire.
Geological Factors
The range of geology in the region is vastly varied, ranging from rock, shales and mudstones to clays, silts and sands in the lower lying areas. Mining, together with land reclamation, requires careful foundation design and site investigation. Landfill gas and gas migration along old workings is known to occur. Local authorities hold valuable information for developers in these areas.
Historical Factors
The region can be divided into distinct areas, each with different industries and historical style.
North and East Yorkshire are predominantly agricultural with residential centres based on small market towns and villages. The coastal towns of Whitby, Bridlington and Scarborough, etc. have supported deep sea fishing and maritime activities since the earliest times, being no stranger to continental raiders from Vikings to the Imperial German Navy. Modern day raiders come via container and ferry. Kingston upon Hull has been and remains a major port and city with a mixed industrial base and large residential population. York and Beverley are both ecclesiastical and former administrative centres with minsters and offer the visitor or prospective developer a vista of historical architectural interest. Roman, Georgian and modern architectural styles can be seen in close proximity. Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire is a main steel producing centre. Small surrounding towns have residential centres of varying ages.
West Yorkshire is a grouping of industrial towns and centres of population in this part of the region were built on the woollen trade but are now representative of all areas of industry. Canals, the railway and now motorways have served to link up sources and outlets for the region’s products. Mining was prevalent in many areas but has now largely disappeared. The region was the source of the industrial revolution.
In South Yorkshire, Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham have traditionally supported heavy industries based on coal. Sheffield formerly dominated the world’s steel industry. These areas supported large but close-knit communities. However, these areas are not purely industrial. Each centre is surrounded by beautiful countryside and the Peak District National Park is easily accessible. Pleasant residential areas are numerous and redevelopment is replacing the traditional industries with new high-tech industries.
Tourism and leisure are being actively promoted in all areas with increasing success. Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium, Xscape at Castleford and Sheffields Don Valley Stadium are all evidence of this change.
Industrial Trends
Within the group are the metropolitan authorities of Sheffield; Doncaster; Kirklees; Bradford; Barnsley; Leeds; Calderdale; Wakefield; and Rotherham, all having mixed industrial, commercial and domestic developments.
The city councils of York and Hull support high profile development in the industrial and commercial sectors.
Smaller in scale, but just as dynamic, are the boroughs of East Riding of Yorkshire (Goole, Beverley, Bridlington); Harrogate, North Lincolnshire (Brigg, Scunthorpe); Scarborough, together with the district councils of Selby, Ryedale (Malton); Richmondshire (Richmond); Hambleton (Northallerton); and Craven (Skipton), with a wide diversity of development based around warehousing, shipping, light industrial, retailing and commercial together with residential developments.
The seaside resorts also have considerable interests in hotels, accommodation and the tourist industry. Harrogate enjoys national recognition as an exhibition and seminar centre, whilst Goole is a port accessing the Humber and inland waterway network to South Yorkshire.
Regional success can be seen in Leeds, which houses the headquarters of many financial and internationally recognised organisations, and in Sheffield, which has gone through the metamorphosis from heavy industry to commerce, retailing and leisure industries whilst retaining the traditional high quality engineering industry which continues to prosper.
Infrastructure
The area has a strong infrastructure including arterial rail and motorway networks. Regional and international airports at Doncaster, Leeds Bradford and Hull also play an important role in internal communications. York is at the hub of the rail network and Hull continues to be the main northern port to Europe. All areas have access to high quality modern shopping facilities and complexes.