Where does Richmond see itself in five or ten years' time?
The CIC spent most of 2025 working alongside North Yorkshire Council to develop a Town Investment Plan (TIP) for Richmond. The initiative, funded by David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, aims to give each of the county's 32 market towns a plan of its own - a template for future funding opportunities. Richmond's plan was shaped by extensive public consultation, running through 2025 and into May 2026, to establish exactly what local people want to see happen in their town. Richmond is the first town in North Yorkshire to have completed this public consultation stage. The plan is now working its way through internal sign-off within North Yorkshire Council and is expected to be formally adopted in the autumn - but implementation is already well underway.
Delivering the Town Investment Plan
How are we doing implementing the Plan?
The vision developed for the TIP echoes the CIC's own: striving to make Richmond an even better place for all. Specifically, it sets out to create a thriving, inclusive market town that celebrates its heritage, supports enterprise and creativity, and enhances wellbeing and opportunity for every generation - with the retention and attraction of young people and young families at its heart.
The TIP sets out a series of projects as immediate priorities. To ensure these are delivered effectively, the CIC established a Delivery Board in January, bringing together representatives from each of the projects involved, community organisations, and elected members from both North Yorkshire Council and the Town Council. The Board provides a forum to track progress and support one another through the inevitable highs and lows of project delivery.
Investment Secured
So, is the Town Investment Plan proving to be useful?
The whole point of developing the TIP was to give future public and private investment in Richmond a clear rationale - answering the question every funder eventually asks: why should I put money into this? The answer, time and again, is straightforward: because this is what the people of Richmond told us they wanted. The plan provides the framework - the jigsaw, if you like - of individual projects that, brought together and built upon one another, will change Richmond for the better.
It's already proving its worth. Between March and May this year, around £500,000 of funding was secured from the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to develop plans included in the TIP.
Building the Business Case
How do we maximise the potential investment in Richmond?
Having a plan is one thing; delivering it is another. The TIP was always a means to an end - the justification for pursuing certain projects and initiatives. To truly unlock the investment needed, though, Richmond also must provide the detailed background data and evidence that potential funders ask for. The CIC secured funding from North Yorkshire Council and has contracted Believe Solutions to develop a full Business Case for the town.
A key part of this work will be bringing Richmond's various organisations together around a single, coordinated narrative for approaching both public and private sector funders. One early piece of feedback from public sector funders has been telling: it's all very well them funding projects, but what about private sector investment too? The Business Case - to be developed over the summer, ready by autumn - should provide exactly the means to answer that. North Yorkshire Council sees this as a pilot study, with the potential to be rolled out across the whole county in future - another example of Richmond and the CIC leading the way in how a rural market town can shape its own positive outcomes.
Support to Other Organisations
How have the CIC been supporting other organisations in town?
Alongside running its own initiatives, the CIC has also put significant time into supporting other organisations delivering projects across town. A considerable amount of Director time has gone into helping the Original Richmond Business and Tourism Association (ORBTA) with its Making Richmond Shine project, for which ORBTA secured £150,000 in funding from the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire under the Vibrant and Sustainable High Streets Fund. The CIC has employed freelancers to provide events coordination, programme management and marketing expertise — partly funded from its own budget - building on the same partnership approach that Richmond's major attractions and community bodies have long taken to delivering major projects. It's an approach that funders clearly appreciate, and one which gives them the confidence to invest in the town.
The CIC has also been supporting businesses on the Trading Estate, working to improve various aspects of how the estate is managed and to help strengthen the businesses located there. The relationship the CIC built with North Yorkshire Council through developing the TIP continues to pay dividends, reflected in the level of support the Council is now providing across Richmond.