Husthwaite is an ancient settlement, one of the oldest buildings being St. Nicholas’ Parish Church dating from the twelfth century, which, with the Village Green, forms the centre of the village.

The village is a Designated Conservation Area and partly lies within the Howardian Hills National Landscape (formerly AONB). It is also a gateway to the North York Moors National Park.

Our village is a thriving local community with a wide range of activities. Many of these take place in our local Village Hall which has become a focal point of entertainment ranging from dramatic productions and talks to Scottish country dancing which culminates in a Burns Night Celebration every year.

Husthwaite Achieves
Dark Skies Friendly Village Status

We are delighted to announce Husthwaite as one of three North Yorkshire villages named as ‘Dark Skies Friendly Communities’ for helping to combat light pollution.

The villages of Husthwaite, Lastingham and Sleightholme Dale are the latest to join the scheme, run by the North York Moors National Park and the Howardian Hills Partnership.

The scheme aims to reduce light pollution and enhance the night sky by encouraging communities to alter their external lights.

Working with Husthwaite Village Hall Committee and Husthwaite Parish Council dark sky friendly lights have been installed at the village hall. With thanks to Richard Darn, Howardian Hills National Landscape for their assistance and enthusiasm and for the funding that was made available for  the project.  Richard commented they are very impressed by the degree to which people in the village clearly value the night time environment which is so important for wildlife as well as preserving tranquility and our view of the stars.  Richard also added the village hall dark lighting scheme is especially impressive and one of the most successful they have seen.

This initiative forms part of a broader effort to preserve the North York Moors and Howardian Hills landscapes.

According to the National Park’s head of nature recovery projects and dark skies lead officer, Mike Hawtin, the addition of the three new villages means that around 2,500 people will soon be living within an accredited Dark Skies Friendly Community.

Mr Hawtin said: “Parish councils, residents, and businesses realise that whereas solving other pollutant crises can seem overwhelming, altering external lights to become more dark skies friendly is something fairly simple and positive they can do, literally at a flick of a switch.

“It’s helped by the fact that more people now understand how reducing light pollution can enhance the tranquillity of an area as well as nature, wildlife, and human health reaping the benefit too.”

The scheme, introduced in 2024, acknowledges neighbourhood efforts to protect and improve the night sky.

Neighbourhood Plan For information on our progress with the Neighbourhood Plan see the Neighbourhood Plan documents page and the monthly updates listed under the Latest News section. We have just added a Draft Husthwaite Design Code  Although the draft Design Code has no formal status yet, as it will be subject to full public and statutory consultation along with the draft Neighbourhood Plan in due course, the Parish Council feels it is helpful to share this now with residents and potential developers as it indicates the standards the Parish Council would like to see applied to new housing and other development in the Parish. A reminder that any queries on the new neighbourhood plan should be sent to Sarah (Aspinall)  via husthwaitepc@hotmail.co.uk.