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29
Aug 2023
North Yorkshire Council to pick double-devolution winners in October
North Yorkshire Council will decide in October which parish councils to select for its double-devolution pilot scheme.
A central pledge in the case for local government reorganisation, which saw the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council, was that parish councils would be handed more powers if they could make a successful business case.
Twelve councils across North Yorkshire have made bids to be part of the pilot, including Ripon City Council which wants to take over the running of council-owned assets in the city, including the Town Hall and Market Square.
Knaresborough Town Council has also made a bid to run the town’s market.
Harrogate is excluded from the process because it doesn't have a parish council.
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he was expecting a decision on which six councils would be picked at a meeting of the Tory-run executive last week.
However, the council has said the winning parish councils will be revealed in October, with the pilots getting underway in April next year.
Cllr Williams said this left an “extremely tight window” for the council to set its precept in January, which sets out how much council tax residents have to pay in the next financial year.
Richard Flinton, chief executive of the council, said:
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