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04
May
Harrogate Town Council will prove doubters wrong, says leading Lib Dem
Few people campaigned more avidly for creating a Harrogate Town Council than Liberal Democrat Chris Aldred, who was one of 15 party members elected to the new authority on Thursday (May 1).
Not everyone is convinced that the new town council, which is a parish council with limited powers, will prove value for money.
Its creation added £12.73 to council tax bills in Harrogate in 2025/26 and the sum is likely to increase once the newly elected councillors agree to take on schemes that need funding.
But Councillor Aldred, who was elected to represent High Harrogate, was adamant the new authority will give Harrogate a voice and provide additional services that will eventually win over the doubters.
He said:
The nice thing about town councils is they are not limited. There are certain things we have to do, like provide allotments, advise in the planning process and carry out the civic duties of a mayor but after that we can do whatever we think we can afford to do.
We won’t be able to do a lot in the first two years because the precept is low but after that we will be looking at providing parks and gardens, expanding the events programme in the town centre with Harrogate BID and working with Harrogate Civic Society to develop the Neighbourhood Plan. It’s all exciting stuff. Harrogate will be the third biggest town council in the country so it will have an amazing amount of money coming in from the precept.
Chris Aldred gives his acceptance speech on Friday.
Cllr Aldred said the Lib Dems, who have political control of the council with 15 of 19 seats, would continue to campaign for the 0.5% levy on Harrogate Spring Water’s net sale to go towards the town, rather than the coffers of North Yorkshire Council.
For the financial year ending March 2024, North Yorkshire Council received £176,806 from the company. The initial budget for Harrogate Town Council is £362,000 – so the addition of the levy would see an increase of 49% on this.
You can read more about the issue here.
Nevertheless Cllr Aldred, who also represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on North Yorkshire Council and is the party’s chair in Harrogate and Knaresborough, acknowledged council taxpayers in Harrogate will have to stump up more to fund the town council.
He said: “The precept will have to go up, obviously, but not by too much because we have that bulk of population.”
Asked how much he thinks it could be, Cllr Aldred said “it won’t be as high as Selby” which charges £138 and suggested it would be “more like £50”.
He added:
“That’s a pound a week. If you live in a household with two people that’s 50p a week – I think that’s value for money."
What would he say to those who still aren’t convinced?
I’d say come back in 2027. See what we have done. A lot of this first two years will be planning but we will have a much clearer picture in 2027 of what we can do.
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