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02
Apr 2024
North Yorkshire Council 'still feels detached' one year on, says peer
North Yorkshire Council still feels “detached” from its residents one-year on from its launch, says a House of Lords peer.
The authority replaced the now defunct Harrogate Borough Council in April 2023 with the promise of making savings.
One year on from its launch, the Stray Ferret has looked at whether people feel the council has improved governance in the county.
Among those we spoke to was Lord Wallace of Saltaire, a Liberal Democrat peer, who was highly critical of the move 12 months ago.
At the time, Lord Saltaire told the House of Lords that local democracy in North Yorkshire had been “destroyed” by devolution and described the introduction of a unitary authority as an “incoherent mess”.
He also criticised the number of councillors to residents, which he said made constituents feel detached from their local council.
Read more:
- Local democracy in North Yorkshire ‘destroyed’ by devolution, says peer
- North Yorkshire Council to re-examine planning decisions by unelected officers
- North Yorkshire Council: Five things that have changed in Harrogate
The Stray Ferret asked Lord Saltaire if he still stood by his criticisms 12 months on from the council’s launch.
He said he felt that people feel detached from their local authority and that councillors could not cope with the number of constituents within their divisions.
Lord Saltaire added that a district and county council model still worked, despite being criticised as “inefficient”.
He said:
Taxi drivers 'pulling their hair out'
Since its launch the changes in governance in the Harrogate district have been far reaching. Among the most controversial has been taxi licensing.
Under the authority’s harmonisation agenda, the zone which taxis could operate in was widened to county-wide. Previously, cabbies could only trade within the Harrogate district.
However, the council overhauled its licensing policy so that taxis can now operate anywhere in North Yorkshire.
In theory, the move would allow drivers to pick up business across the county.
Richard Fieldman, who runs his taxi in Ripon.
The council argued that the move would provide “flexibility to operate across the county, encouraging environmental efficiencies and creating a wider distribution of wheelchair-accessible vehicles”.
But, Richard Fieldman, who has operated his cab in Ripon for three decades, said he did not feel the move had improved the trade.
He told the Stray Ferret:
The Stray Ferret has approached North Yorkshire Council for a response and asked how it feels governance has been improved in the county.
Council a 'watershed' for public services
At the time of its launch, Cllr Carl Les, the Conservative leader of the council, said the move was a “watershed” for how public services could be delivered to the county’s residents.
Meanwhile, Richard Flinton, chief executive of the authority, said in March last year that “millions” would be saved from the new council.
He said:
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