In a month’s time, voters will head to the polls in the first ever Harrogate Town Council election.

The new parish came into effect today (April 1) following the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council two years ago.

There will be 19 councillors on the town council who will each represent wards previously used by the defunct borough council.

But what is the new authority and what will it do? The Stray Ferret has put together a Q/A below to clear up some of those questions.

What is a town council?

A town council is a lower tier authority, which runs services such as play areas and community centres.

Councillors are elected to serve on them but they are not paid.

Town councils can be responsible for providing and maintaining local amenities such as open spaces, allotments, public clocks, village halls, footpaths and litter bins.

They also provide community buildings and facilities ranging from cemeteries and allotments to grants to community groups, while responding to planning applications and accessing grant funding for projects.

Why does Harrogate need one?

As part of a community governance review, North Yorkshire Council launched a consultation on setting up town councils in Harrogate and Scarborough in August 2022.

The purpose was to form a layer of governance in two unparished areas following the creation of the unitary authority in April 2023.

Over the course of two consultations, which looked at which areas would fall under the town council and how many councillors it would have, the public backed it.

From there, councillors also backed the creation of the council.

How much will it cost taxpayers?

In November 2024, councillors agreed a precept to be levied on council tax bills to pay for Harrogate Town Council.

It will see a £12.73 charge levied on council tax bills in addition to the sums already paid to fund North Yorkshire Council and police and fire services.

A total of 28,427 households in the new Harrogate parish will have to share the cost.

The move will see the town council command a first budget of £362,000, which is made up of staffing costs, running costs and set up fees.

A contingency figure of £100,000 will also be included.

When is the election and who is standing?

Nineteen wards will be up for election on May 1. One councillor will be elected to each ward.

These include:

• Bilton Grange
  
• Bilton Woodfield
  
• Central
  
• Coppice Valley
  
• Duchy
  
• Fairfax
  
• Harlow
  
• High Harrogate
  
• Hookstone
  
• Kingsley
  
• New Park
  
• Oatlands
  
• Old Bilton
  
• Pannal
  
• Saltergate
  
• St Georges
  
• Starbeck
  
• Stray
  
• Valley Gardens
  

So far, only the Conservatives and the Green Party have revealed their full list of candidates for the forthcoming election. You can read about them here and here.

However, Labour, Reform and the Liberal Democrats are also expected to field candidates for May 1.

The full list of those standing for election will be published on Thursday, April 3.

Councillors elected on May 1 will serve a term of two years. Elections will be held again in 2027 for a four-year term to align with elections for North Yorkshire Council and all other parish councils

Meanwhile, voters have until April 11 to register to vote in the Harrogate Town Council election. You can register to vote here.