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12
Nov 2023
Criticism after no one attends council’s ‘democracy in action’ meeting
Senior North Yorkshire councillors have rejected criticism after no members of the public attended a meeting of its top committee, which was held 55 miles from its headquarters.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive meeting at Selby Civic Centre lasted less than 10 minutes before the Tory-led authority’s leader Cllr Carl Les closed proceedings to the public to discuss the confidential terms of a deal to sell four hectares of land at Gatherley Road, Brompton-on-Swale, near Richmond.
Following a furore over Scarborough council’s confidential deal over the Alpamare water park in 2013, which could cost its successor council £8m, opposition councillors said the meeting should have been better advertised and more transparent.
Cllr Les told the meeting it was intended to hold more executive meetings away from County Hall in Northallerton and while two Selby-specific items had been moved from the meeting’s agenda, it was “felt it was still important to come on our peripatetic journey”.
After rubber-stamping Department for Education childcare funding, the meeting, which had seen several senior Northallerton-based council officers travel to Selby specifically for the meeting, was closed to the public just nine minutes and 40 seconds after it was opened.
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Following the meeting, opposition councillors questioned how the meeting had been advertised, with Selby councillor and Labour group leader Steve Shaw Wright stating even the town council had been unaware of the meeting.
Liberal Democrat group leader Cllt Bryn Griffiths said having no members of the public attending was “very disappointing” given the resources used staging the meeting in Selby.
Richmond councillor Stuart Parsons, leader of the council’s Independent group, questioned whether the meeting had displayed democracy in action and if there could have been more transparency over the land deal.
He said:
Responding to the concerns, Cllr Les said the meeting had been advertised to members and the session in private had only involved the confidential terms of the deal.
He said:
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