East Riding of Yorkshire Council, take a bow. The council turned 30 on 1 April 2026, marking three decades since the authority was created in the reorganisation that followed the end of Humberside. In that time it has become one of the biggest public institutions in the area, providing more than 600 services, employing more than 10,000 staff, and serving over 143,000 households and businesses across around 930 square miles.
Councils are easy to criticise, and often deserve it. But anniversaries are a fair moment to step back and look at the bigger picture. Over 30 years, East Riding Council has helped shape daily life in ways that go far beyond meetings, agendas and council tax bills.
Here are 30 things it has given us all.
1. One council running most of local life
Since 1996, East Riding residents have had a single unitary authority overseeing much of the machinery of daily life, from education and highways to social care, planning, libraries, leisure and refuse collection.
2. One of the biggest employers in the area
The council now employs more than 10,000 people, making it one of the East Riding’s major employers as well as one of its biggest service providers.
3. The Beverley Southern Relief Road
One of the clearest examples of long-term infrastructure investment was Beverley’s integrated transport scheme, which secured £20.7 million in government funding towards a total cost of £27.3 million and included the Southern Relief Road.
4. The A164 and Jock’s Lodge upgrade
The A164 and Jock’s Lodge improvement scheme near Beverley has grown into an £86.9 million project, one of the biggest road schemes delivered under the council’s watch.
5. The Brough roundabout scheme
The new Brough roundabout scheme carried an estimated cost of £4.7 million and was developed to support growth and ease congestion linked to housing development in the area.
6. Maintenance of a vast road network
East Riding Council is responsible for maintaining hundreds of kilometres of roads across a large rural area, including principal roads, B roads, C roads and unclassified roads, along with more than 1,300 bridge structures.
7. Better flood protection
After the devastating floods of 2007, flood resilience became one of the council’s defining responsibilities. Its own reporting says flood risk has been reduced for an additional 9,574 properties since 2015/16.
8. Major capital investment in flood schemes
The council has also pointed to £15 million of capital funding secured for major flood risk schemes in places including Hornsea, Thorngumbald, Preston, Hedon and Burton Pidsea.
9. One of the best recycling records in England
East Riding’s recycling rate reached 60.2 per cent in 2023/24, up from 58.4 per cent the previous year, putting it well above the latest England average.
10. Highly effective recycling centres
Its household waste recycling sites achieved an average recycling rate of 82.7 per cent in 2023/24, a figure that shows how strong the area’s wider recycling system has become.
11. Weekly brown bin collections
From February 2026, weekly brown bin collections began rolling out in parts of the East Riding, with full area coverage due by February 2027.
12. A school system serving around 41,500 children
East Riding has 149 schools educating around 41,500 children, making education one of the council’s biggest and most important responsibilities.
13. First-choice primary school places for most families
The council says 96 per cent of children received their first-choice primary school place.
14. First-choice secondary places for most families
It also says 97.8 per cent of children received their first-choice secondary school place.
15. A place at one of the preferred schools almost every time
Overall, 98.8 per cent of pupils were offered a place at one of their three named schools.
16. Strong school standards
The council’s anniversary statement says more than 96 per cent of East Riding schools are currently rated Good or Outstanding.
17. School buildings, meals and transport
Over 30 years the authority has also built or remodelled schools and continued to provide the school meals and school transport families rely on.
18. A county-wide leisure network
East Riding Leisure now gives residents access to 10 centres across the authority area, something few rural councils can match at that scale.
19. Public gyms, pools and classes on a large scale
Across that network, residents can access nine gyms, eight pools and more than 1,500 classes a week.
20. Continued investment in Hornsea Hub
The council is still putting money into those facilities, with Hornsea Hub’s gym receiving a £250,000 redevelopment in 2024.
21. East Riding Leisure Bridlington
The council’s anniversary statement highlights East Riding Leisure Bridlington as one of the major leisure projects delivered or upgraded over the past 30 years.
22. A renewed Champney Treasure House
In Beverley, Champney Treasure House reopened after a £3.3 million improvement scheme covering the museum, archives, gallery, library, café, gardens and tower viewing point.
23. A restored Bridlington Spa
Bridlington Spa reopened in 2008 after major redevelopment, including a new entrance, a two-storey conference suite and extensive refurbishment of the Royal Hall and Edwardian Theatre.
24. A proper library network
East Riding still runs 23 branch libraries alongside mobile library services, maintaining a genuine public library network across a large rural county.
25. Libraries doing more than lending books
The library service now offers much more than traditional borrowing, including digital access, events and practical wellbeing support such as blood pressure monitor loans.
26. A serious literary programme
East Riding Libraries also runs the Festival of Words, backed by Arts Council England and built around writers, readers and events across the area.
27. A platform for younger voices
In 2026, the service appointed its first East Riding Young Poet Laureate, giving younger writers a formal role in the cultural life of the area.
28. The Beverley Festival of Christmas
The council’s Visit East Yorkshire team organises Beverley Festival of Christmas, which it describes as the largest one-day yuletide market in the UK.
29. New extra-care housing at Appleton Court
Appleton Court in Hessle opened in 2023 with 43 flats and 24-hour on-site care and support for adults with a range of needs.
30. Better digital and physical connections
Broadband East Riding improved connectivity to more than 42,000 properties under one contract, a further 6,771 under another, and another 1,371 hard-to-reach premises through a later gigabit-capable rollout. Alongside that, the council manages 53 miles of coastline and around 1,500 kilometres of public rights of way.
Thirty years on, East Riding Council’s legacy is outstanding and has made a real difference in the lives of our area and many people in it. It can be seen in a £27.3 million Beverley transport scheme, an £86.9 million road upgrade, flood protection for thousands of properties, a recycling rate above 60 per cent, 149 schools, 10 leisure centres, 23 libraries, major investment in civic and cultural buildings, extra-care housing, and better broadband reaching tens of thousands of premises.
For all the rows and frustrations that come with local government, that is a substantial body of work. Every officer, every councillor and every volunteer should take a bow.
Feature image show the 4 leaders that have shaped ERYC over the past 30 years, from top left, Cllr Stephen Parnaby, Cllr Richard Burton, Cllr Jonathan Owen and current leader Cllr Anne Handley.