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20
Jul 2022
Map reveals areas which could be served by a Harrogate Town Council
The areas which could pay an extra tax to fund a Harrogate Town Council have been revealed for the first time in a new map.
A consultation on whether to create the new council will be held this summer after the proposal gathered the support of politicians in Harrogate .
Harrogate and Scarborough are the only two areas in North Yorkshire not to be parished.
And although the move has been well supported by councillors, it will be residents who have the final say on whether it should go ahead.
A new map (pictured above) from North Yorkshire County Council has revealed which areas could vote in this poll and ultimately be served by the town council.
These include:
High Harrogate and Kingsley
Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate
Fairfax and Starbeck
Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone
Harlow and St Georges
Bilton Grange and New Park
Bilton and Nidd Gorge
Most of Coppice Valley and Duchy
Parts of Oatlands and Pannal
Parts of Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate
It has been argued that creating a town council will help Harrogate keep control of its prized public buildings and some services such as parks and tourism when the existing county and borough councils are abolished next April.
The existing councils will be replaced by a new North Yorkshire Council which could filter down some powers to all town and parish councils in what has been hailed as a “double devolution”.
Those were the words of councillor Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, who also previously said more than one town or parish council could be created in Harrogate – if that’s what voters wanted.
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A decision to hold the upcoming consultation was agreed at a meeting of the county council’s executive today when the next steps of the legal process known as a community governance review were set out.
Councillor David Chance, executive member for corporate services, said:
Other services which could come under the control of a Harrogate Town Council include events, markets, play areas, community centres and allotments.
These arrangements are already in place at the likes of Knaresborough Town Council and Ripon City Council which charge £25.27 and £70.77 respectively for their annual parish precepts.
The idea of a Harrogate Town Council has already won the support of members of the outgoing Harrogate Borough Council who made calls for the process to be sped up.
County council leader Carl Les also said he believed Harrogate and Scarborough would both be “well served” by a lower tier of local government.
He previously said:
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