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12
Oct 2023
North Yorkshire double devolution ‘will not help vast majority of area’
A flagship scheme to hand extra powers to parishes following the creation of North Yorkshire Council will not benefit the vast majority of the area, it has been claimed.
Opposition groups on the Conservative-run council have expressed disappointment after it emerged just 11 town councils and one parish council had submitted bids to manage more services in their area as part of what the authority has titled “double devolution”.
The offer to hand powers to parish authorities was initially made in former North Yorkshire County Council’s submission to government for the establishment of a unitary council amid concerns that decision-making for local services would become too far removed.
An officer’s report to a meeting of the council’s executive on Tuesday emphasises how the council has pledged to place local communities at its heart while covering England’s largest county, and double devolution would be “a key platform to achieving this aim”.
However, the report states double devolution applications would need to have a solid business case and be cost neutral to the unitary council.
It states of the 12 expressions of interest submitted by town and parish councils, three did not meet the council’s criteria, including the only one from a parish council.
Knaresborough Town Council could be given powers over the town's market.
The report states Little Ouseburn Parish Council applied to manage grass cutting outside some cottages, but the parish “did not evidence legal competence”.
Stokesley Town Council’s bid to manage off-street parking was rejected as North Yorkshire Council stood to lose income.
Double devolution bids which are set to be approved include Filey being given the power to manage its public benches, Northallerton and Thirsk and Knaresborough town councils their markets, Richmond Town Council being handed the management of Friary Gardens and Malton Town Council its public toilets.
Read more:
- Knaresborough and Ripon picked to advance double devolution bids
- Claim Ripon’s bid to control town hall and market square a ‘done deal’
Elsewhere, Skipton and Whitby town councils look set to be told their bids to manage services such as toilets and parks need “amendments”, while separate project teams will be established to work with Ripon and Selby town councils to shape their bids due to their “ambition and complexity of the expressions of interest”.
Ahead of the meeting, the authority’s executive member for corporate services, Cllr David Chance, said the authority was looking to “progress cautiously, learning from the experience and developing best practice”.
He said:
However, the authority’s Labour group leader Cllr Steve Shaw Wright said for the vast majority of North Yorkshire double devolution was “just lip service” and “managing a couple of flower beds does not require a fantastic business case”.
Cllr Wright said:
When asked if he believed double devolution was proving a success in North Yorkshire, Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Bryn Grifths said:
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