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09
Sept 2020
Harrogate Borough Council's days are numbered, admits leader
The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has conceded the authority will cease to exist after devolution.
Political leaders in North Yorkshire are locked in a debate over two future models of local government - neither of which includes HBC.
Speaking at a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting on Monday, HBC leader Cllr Richard Cooper, said:
Cllr Cooper and Richard Flinton, chief executive of the county council, both said they had no "vested interest" in whatever model the government chooses as part of its plans to devolve local government.
The meeting comes as county council and district council officials have been presenting their proposals to the public and business leaders across the county.
Cllr Cooper addressed the chamber meeting on behalf of the county's seven district authorities. which have opted for an east/west model,
Read more:
- Councils clash over local government shake-up plans
- Districts to launch alternative council reorganisation bid
- ‘Double devolution’ for parish councils, under county council plan
Cllr Cooper said he supported an overhaul of the council structure as the two-tier system was “costly”.
Cllr Cooper described the county council’s model, which would see a single authority covering North Yorkshire alongside the City of York, as a “continuity county council”.
But Mr Flinton said the authority did not have an interest in carrying on as it is and that the new authority would not be "a county council mark two”.
He said:
He added that his position, along with those of other senior council officers, would be open for applications under the new system.
The government is expected to publish a white paper on restructuring local government this autumn.
Under the government's timetable, a new council could be in place as soon as 2022.
Earlier this week, Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, asked Simon Clarke, former local government minister, what the minimum population size for the unitary authorities would be.
However, Mr Clarke's response did not give a figure. He added that the white paper would give more details on the matter.
District councillors are expected to vote on their model this month ahead of a submission to ministers.
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