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Sept 2022

Last Updated: 14/09/2022

Politics

Call for referendum over Harrogate town council

by Calvin Robinson

| 15 Sept, 2022

Some think creating a Harrogate Town Council would boost local decision-making while others regard it as an unnecessary extra layer of bureaucracy.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

Senior Conservative councillors in Harrogate are set to call for a referendum on whether to create a town council.

Harrogate Borough Council will no longer exist from April 1 when the new unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council, is created.

If a new town council is created it could be given control over areas including parks, tourism and events.

Some think a town council would boost local decision-making while others regard it as an unnecessary extra layer of bureaucracy.

Next week, Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of the council, and Cllr Graham Swift, deputy leader of the authority, will table a motion calling on the county council to hold a referendum.

North Yorkshire County Council has launched a review into whether to create a lower tier authority in the town. A consultation into the matter is currently being held.

The motion, which will go before a full borough council meeting on September 21, says:

“This council calls upon North Yorkshire County Council to hold a binding referendum of Harrogate town residents who would be constituents of a new Harrogate Town Council to determine whether such a council should be formed.

“Information should be made available before the vote on what duties the new town council will have and how much the additional council tax precept will be to pay for those duties.

“Such a referendum will give democratic legitimacy to the new town council in the eyes of those who fund it and are affected by its decisions."

Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats have already called for Harrogate to have its own town council.

Harrogate town council: What is it and what would it cost taxpayers?

Decision on Harrogate town council could take two years

Harrogate and Scarborough are the only major places in North Yorkshire not to be parished.

Earlier this year, Conservative leader of the county council, Cllr Carl Les, said he hoped the matter could be resolved “as soon as possible”.

When asked when the referendums could be held, Cllr Les told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that this was currently unclear. He said:

“We are getting a lot of requests about town councils made to us from people including local politicians, as well as the business community and groups like Harrogate Civic Society.

“There is clearly an appetite to do something about this.

“And of course the sooner we can do it, the sooner we can find out whether there is an appetite amongst the general population.

“They are the key people in all of this. They have to be asked for their opinion and will say yea or nay."

A public consultation over setting up a town council for Harrogate is currently open. You can have your say here.

The consultation will close on September 30.

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Call for referendum over Harrogate town council

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