North Yorkshire is the largest county in England covering over 3,200 square miles. There are over 359,000 households with a population of 830,000 residents. There are 37,000 active businesses. The City of York is home to over 30,000 students, with two universities. North Yorkshire has two national parks with over 800 tourist attractions and attracts more than 31 million visitors each year, with 9 million visiting the City of York alone in 2023.  

Our Service area consists of the county of North Yorkshire, and the City of York. Our county has isolated rural settlements and farms, market towns, and larger urban areas such as York, Harrogate, and Scarborough. Overall, it is sparsely populated, with a population density of 0.77 people per hectare compared to the England average of 4.3 people per hectare.

Acute deprivation is relatively rare across York and North Yorkshire, with only 3% of neighbourhoods ranking among the 10% most deprived nationally. However, the isolated nature of this deprivation, especially in coastal communities, often results in poorer outcomes compared to areas where deprivation is more widespread. Scarborough, in particular, consistently under performs across various socio-economic indicators (York and North Yorkshire LEP, 2023).

Two of the major rivers in the county are the River Swale and the River Ure. The Swale and the Ure form the River Ouse which flows through York and into the Humber estuary. The River Tees forms part of the border between North Yorkshire and County Durham. The coastline of North Yorkshire runs for approximately 45 miles from just north of Whitby to south of Filey.

There are approximately 6,000 miles of road across our Service area. The road network is the main means of transport connecting small towns and villages. The rural nature of our
county means that people often travel further to access work, education and services. In 2023 5.38 billion vehicle miles were travelled on roads in North Yorkshire and 0.82 billion vehicle miles were travelled on roads in York (Department for Transport, 2025).