Crime commissioner Zoë Metcalfe has hinted council taxpayers in North Yorkshire will have to pay more for police and fire services next year.

The commissioner sets the annual police and fire precepts – the amounts dedicated to policing and fire and rescue services in North Yorkshire and York from every household.

Ms Metcalfe has opened a consultation on how much people are willing to spend on this in their council tax bills from April next year. The sum will be added to the amount charged by North Yorkshire Council and local parish councils for residents’ final council tax bills from April next year.

Three of the options presented in the consultation are for council tax increases. One suggests a freeze and none suggest a reduction. The freeze option is accompanied by the statement, ‘this would be a significant cut to the fire budget due to inflation and current levels of service delivery could not be maintained’.

The suggested increases are for 2.99%, 6.2% and 9.3%, which would be the equivalent of an extra £2.41, £5 and £7.50 a year respectively.

Ms Metcalfe said:

“It is never easy to ask residents for more money, and I know that many individuals and families are facing financial pressures once again this coming year, but our emergency services are also dealing with rising costs as they continue their vital work to keep us all safe.

“And again, this year the decision will be challenging, as I have to balance the burden on taxpayers and the growing demands for services from our police and fire and rescue services, so it’s vital that I hear your views.

“Please go online, take just a few minutes to have your say and I will ensure your views are reflected when decisions are made.”

The survey runs until midnight Monday, January 21 and you can participate here.

After the consultation ends, Ms Metcalfe will submit her proposals to the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel in February.

The panel, which is a joint committee of North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council, can make recommendations on the proposal but the commissioner will ultimately decide the outcome.

Ms Metcalfe’s role will be taken over by whoever is elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire in May next year.

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Further details of the proposed new bike track in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens have been revealed.

North Yorkshire Council is running a six-week consultation on whether to replace the nine-hole pitch and putt course with a pump track.

Pump tracks use bumps and bends in the land to allow cyclists and scooter riders to generate momentum.

The consultation says the “new facility would be approximately 2,000 square metres”.

However, the council has now said the track itself wouldn’t be this size, and much of the pitch and putt course would be returned to grassland.

A council spokesperson said the track, which would cost £2,000, is likely to be similar in size to the one in Wetherby, which is shown below and in the main image. It could be open by April.

A council spokesperson said:

“It is a small beginners track that would be made of compacted hardcore.

“It would be 1 to 1.5 metres wide and will be based in a circular shape.

“The pump track is aimed at beginners to complement the existing skate park that attracts older and more competent children.

“It is not going to cover the whole area of the pitch and putt, only a smaller area where holes one to nine are. The frisbee golf is staying.”

Asked what would happen to the remainder of the pitch and putt area, the spokesperson added:

“The whole pitch and putt course would be closed and the remainder would be returned to normal parkland.”

Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director for environment, previously said:

“The track proposed would have gentle slopes, curves and bumps, be accessible all year, and replace the existing nine-hole pitch and putt golf course.”

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Almost two-thirds of Harrogate residents who took part in the latest consultation have backed a Harrogate Town Council being set up next year.

Every household in what would become the Harrogate parish had the chance to take part in the consultation, which ran for nine weeks from March 2.

However there were only 1,698 responses to the consultation, which makes up 4.7% of eligble households.

We took a deeper look at the numbers to gauge how the public in Harrogate feels about more councillors and a new layer of local democracy being created.

‘We want a more local council’

There were 1,104 respondents (65.0%) who agreed with the recommendation to create a town council called Harrogate Town Council.

With repeated criticism of the new Northallerton-based North Yorkshire Council being too remote, there were 196 additional comments from people saying local representation and decision-making is needed in Harrogate.

Meanwhile, 36 respondents said a town council would be better equipped to look after Harrogate’s heritage and interests and would also be able to improve local services.

‘Waste of money’

Just a few months after the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council many questioned the need to set up a new council for the town.

There were 483 respondents (28%) who said they did not want one setting up.

It has not been confirmed what powers the new council would have but Harrogate households would be asked to pay between £40 and £60 on top of their council tax each year to pay for it.

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This led to 215 respondents saying they were against the proposal because it would be a “waste of money”.

One person said they wanted to see the return of Harrogate Borough Council instead.

Size of new council

North Yorkshire Council has recommended that each of the proposed 10 wards in Harrogate be represented by two councillors per ward, with the exception of Saltergate which would have one councillor, taking the total number of councillors to 19.

This is just under half the number of councillors of Harrogate Borough Council, which had 40 but covered the whole Harrogate district including Ripon and Knaresborough.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

When asked about the size of the new council, 956 respondents (56%) said they were happy with the size whereas 501 (30%) were not and 241 (14%) were not sure.

Of those who disagreed with the size, 52 people commented that one councillor per ward would be a better arrangement for the new council.

Demographics of consultation

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the highest numbers of responses come from people aged 50 to 64 and 65 to 74.

There were just 37 responses from people in their 20s and 98 from people in their 30s, raising questions about how engaged younger people are in the process to create a town council.

North Yorkshire Council has proposed that the elections to the new council be held on May 2 next year for a reduced terms of three years, with ordinary elections taking place in 2027 and every four years thereafter.

A final decision to create a town council has not been made yet and a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council will debate the proposals later this year.