Two new councillors are joining Pateley Bridge Town Council, to replace long-serving members Christine Skaife and Chris Hawkesworth, who retired earlier this year.
Following the co-option of Paul Anson and Neil Thompson, the Mayor, Cllr Mike Holt, said:
“The two vacant positions needed to be filled and with elections cancelled until at least May next year we had to use the co-option process to appoint the new councillors.”
The Mayor of Pateley Bridge, Cllr Mike Holt
He added:
“It was extremely heartening that four extremely strong candidates expressed an interest in the positions, and I am delighted that after a stringent voting process the positions were filled. I would like to welcome Paul and Neil to the council and I am looking forward to working with them.”
Limitations on gatherings caused by the coronavirus crisis have meant that the work of the council carries on via email and Zoom ans town clerk Sarah Adamson has been designated further powers to maintain day to day business.
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Cllr Holt said:
“May 2022 might seem a long way off, but it is only 20 months away and that, hopefully, is when the next local elections take place. I do hope, as with the co-option process we have just been through, that more people will show an interest in the council, and put themselves forward for election, something that is everybody’s democratic right.”
Town and parish councils have limited powers but are consulted about, and can influence decisions on, a range of functions and services, from highways to social housing allocations.
Pateley Bridge Town Council is one of 76 town and parish councils within the Harrogate district and is in the civil parish of High and Low Bishopside.
Located within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the council covers a large rural area, bounded by the River Nidd and extending from the southern part of Wath to Brimham Rocks, taking in Glasshouses, Wilsill, Blazefield and Fellbeck, and up to Dallow Moor.