The president of Harrogate in Bloom has said she is confident the town will maintain its floral reputation after spring’s shake-up of local government.

Harrogate Borough Council‘s parks and environmental services department has played a major role in maintaining the district’s green spaces over the last 50 years.

It has worked closely with Harrogate in Bloom and other volunteer groups on landscaping and creating attractive flower displays that are a major part of the town’s tourist appeal.

But the council will be abolished on April 1, triggering fears the new North Yorkshire Council, which will be based in Northallerton, might not value Harrogate’s appearance as highly and might not collaborate with local groups.

Harrogate Borough Council maintaining summer flower beds.

Pam Grant, president of Harrogate in Bloom, said she was “reassured” after talks with a representative of the new local authority about future plans. She said:

“The new council wants Harrogate in Bloom to continue and it wants Harrogate to maintain its floral reputation.

“I’m assured nothing will change overnight on April 1 and no drastic changes are planned.

“Nobody likes uncertainty but I feel reassured.”

Harrogate in Bloom is a volunteer-run group, which works with other community groups on town centre schemes.

It has also forged close relationships with Harrogate Borough Council and, more recently, Harrogate Business Improvement District, which has funded barrier baskets, hanging baskets and shop planters.

One of the BID’s floral schemes.

Harrogate was awarded a gold medal and named a winner in the small city category at this month’s Yorkshire in Bloom awards.

Ms Grant said:

“Harrogate doesn’t have a cathedral to attract visitors but it does have a reputation for being a nice town with lots of flowers and clean, fresh air.”

Read more:

• Harrogate and Ripon gardens win gold at Yorkshire in Bloom awards
• Harrogate district paddling pools to stay open but flower watering to reduce under hosepipe ban

A move to harmonise council tax payments across North Yorkshire “provokes a whole host of issues around fairness”, a meeting has heard.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive was told residents in Hambleton district were facing having to pay significantly higher bills to bring their charges into line with those being levied by second tier authorities elsewhere in the county.

However, leading members highlighted that many Hambleton residents were also facing significant council tax charges from parish councils for services such as public toilets that in other places were being charged for by district councils.

In addition, concerns have been raised that under proposals to level up council tax charges across the county, residents in districts such as Harrogate, Scarborough and Richmondshire would end up paying more for the same services from the unitary council for the next two years.

Councillors were told while Selby and Craven district residents faced paying relatively modest increases in their council tax to bring their payments up to the average, Hambleton district residents were currently paying £89 less than the average district council charge across the county.

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The meeting heard a cross-party group of councillors representing all seven districts had agreed while it was necessary to bring council tax charges into line across the county as part of devolution, the authority would not seek to increase the funds it generated from the levelling up exercise.

Corporate director Gary Fielding told the meeting that councillors had achieved a consensus that levelling up the charges over two years would be the best compromise.

He added:

“The group did recognise that this does provoke a whole host of issues around fairness. Fairness is perhaps in the eye of the beholder, but this was recognised as an appropriate way forward.”

The authority’s executive member for finance, Councillor Gareth Dadd, said there was no easy way for the council to harmonise council tax charges and that there would be “winners and losers”.

He said while Hambleton residents paid less council tax to the district council than other areas, they paid council tax charges to town and parish councils that residents of other areas did not.

Coun Dadd said:

“In some of the ‘winning’ areas there currently isn’t a town council that picks up some of the services.”

After receiving the approval of the authority’s executive, residents will be consulted over the proposal, which will also be considered at a full meeting of the council next month.

People across the Harrogate district will be asked from today for their views on a historic £540 million devolution deal for North Yorkshire.

In August, county council leaders agreed the long-awaited deal with ministers to devolve more powers, including an elected mayor, to North Yorkshire and York.

The deal will see £18 million year worth of funding devolved to the county over 30 years.

Now, as part of the process to bring more powers to North Yorkshire, the public, businesses and charity organisations will be asked for their thoughts on the deal.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said: 

“We really need the public to come forward and give us their views on what is important to them and how devolution can benefit communities and businesses across York and North Yorkshire.

“The chance to secure these decision-making powers and millions of pounds in funding from the government is set to prove a life-changing opportunity for more than 800,000 people who live and work in York and North Yorkshire.

“Devolution will give local leaders the chance to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing people in York and North Yorkshire – whether that be providing more affordable housing, improving skills and education for better job opportunities, boosting transport infrastructure or tackling the climate crisis.”

Pictured: Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Greg Clark MP and Cllr Keith Aspden, leader of City of York Council sign the document.

Meanwhile, Helen Simpson, chair of the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: 

“This is a historic moment for York and North Yorkshire and creates the opportunity to deliver long-term investment to support business growth.

“I’d like to invite business leaders across the region to contribute to this consultation.”

Consultation on the deal will run until Friday, December 16. People can have their say at the York and North Yorkshire Devolution website here.

What is in the deal?

As part of the devolution deal, a mayoral combined authority would be formed with a directly-elected mayor by May 2024.

It would mirror similar arrangements in the Tees Valley, where Conservative mayor Ben Houchen oversees the combined authority.

Read More:

• Have devolution fears that Harrogate will be voiceless come true?
• Mayor for North Yorkshire agreed in £540m historic devolution deal
• North Yorkshire’s devolution deal: What’s in it and how will it work?

While the planned North Yorkshire deal brings £540 million worth of investment funding, it is lower than the original £750 million requested by local leaders.

However, more power over skills and transport will be devolved.

It will see whoever is elected mayor and the new combined authority have control over the adult education budget and the ability to draw up its own transport strategy.

Control over bus franchising has also been granted to the county and the power to set up Mayoral Development Corporations, which have the power to buy land for housing or employment to regenerate a defined area.

Much of the deal echoes what was given to Tees Valley in 2015, where mayor Houchen has since exercised his economic development powers to buy Teesside International Airport and Redcar Steelworks.

Council tax bills for a Band D property in Harrogate are set to fall by £23.47 for the next two years as part of the transition to the new North Yorkshire Council.

Harrogate Borough Council currently charges the highest council tax of the seven district councils in North Yorkshire.

An average band D property in the district is currently £1,723.27, compared with £1,586.83 in Hambleton, which has the lowest level of council tax in the county.

The seven councils will be abolished on April 1 as part of the government’s devolution agenda and North Yorkshire County Council is to meet next week to discuss ways to harmonise the level of payment across the county.

Under plans being drawn up, Band D bills in the Harrogate district would fall by £23.47 a year for two years while Hambleton’s bills would increase by £89.49.

However, the rises and falls due to harmonisation do not take into account the annual increase in council tax bills, which is set to be approved by county councillors in February. The figures also relate to just the precept for county and district authorities, and do not include money for North Yorkshire Police, the county’s fire brigade and parish or town councils.

If a Harrogate town council is formed, the precept for people living in the town council area would increase.

Decision on Tuesday

The advent of a new council covering the whole of the county in April means there is a legal requirement to ensure all council taxpayers in North Yorkshire are charged the same amount.

The proposals to phase this in over the next two years will be considered by members of North Yorkshire County Council’s decision-making executive when they meet on Tuesday next week. They are based on recommendations by a cross-party working group of councillors.

The working group, which was established by the county council’s executive in June, considered a range of proposals, including harmonising council tax bills over a period of up to eight years.

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North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for finance, Cllr Gareth Dadd, who is also the authority’s deputy leader, said:

“The challenge to harmonise council tax bills across the county is obviously a significant one, but it is an issue we have to address before the new North Yorkshire Council is launched in April next year.

“We are acutely aware of the financial pressures which everyone is under not just in North Yorkshire, but across the whole country, as we see inflation rising and the cost of energy soar along with the price of food and drink and other essential items.

“A great deal of work has gone into the proposed scheme to harmonise council tax bills across all seven districts, and we believe that the plan that has been drawn up to introduce the changes over the two years represents the fairest way forward for everyone involved.”

There would be huge variations in the amount of funding generated if the decision was taken to opt for moving council tax levels to the lowest amount seen in Hambleton or choosing to adopt the highest level in Harrogate.

If council tax bills were brought in line with Hambleton, there would be an annual reduction of funding in the region of £21 million, falling from the current level of £401.8 million to £380.4 million.

By comparison, an extra £11.3 million would be generated by increasing council tax bills to the level currently paid in the Harrogate district, with the average across North Yorkshire for owners of a Band D property paying £1,723.27 instead of £1,676.32.

Funding from council tax is used to finance services ranging from waste collection and recycling to highways maintenance and adult social care.

North Yorkshire County Council has defended a £540 million devolution deal after a report found it to be the third lowest agreed across northern England.

A report by the think tank, IPPR North, analysed the deal in comparison with similar agreements struck in areas such as West Yorkshire and the Tees Valley.

The organisation looked at the proposed ‘gainshare’, which is the money provided by the government annually for the investment fund, and how it compared with other northern regions.

The report found that out of seven devolution agreements reached in the north of England, the North Yorkshire deal offered the third lowest investment funding per person.

The £540 million investment, which is spread out at £18 million per year over 30 years, came below the likes of South Yorkshire (£900m) and North of Tyne (£600m) in the analysis.

The analysis from IPPR North, which shows devolution investment funding per person. 

The report comes after county council leaders agreed the long-awaited deal with ministers to devolve more powers, including an elected mayor, to North Yorkshire and York, in August.

Rosie Lockwood and Marcus Johns, of the IPPR, carried out the research into the deal which is set to go out for consultation this year.

Ms Lockwood said the fund would not “come close” to covering losses in local government cuts. However, she added that any funding was a step forward.

She said:

“Clearly this, or any investment fund alone, does not come close to the losses communities across the North have experienced because of austerity. And when shown alongside the north’s other initial devolution deals, as we have compared below, the fund comes fifth of the seven initial deals for size of investment fund per person.

“Nevertheless, the investment fund is a step in the right direction. It is better that decisions about how to spend this money are taken locally, in line with local priorities.”

Northern Powerhouse analysis

County council leaders defended the deal and pointed out that it was “only the beginning” of devolution in the county.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of the authority, said the agreement would give local officials “a seat at the table” to be able to negotiate further funding and powers from ministers.

Responding to the IPPR North report, he said:

“One of the key elements of the deal is an investment totalling £540 million over a 30-year period, as it provides flexibility to target money to specific schemes on a far more local level. 

“While other devolution deals have secured larger figures of funding under their deals, this has to be placed in context, as this is simply just the start. 

“Any devolution deal is about getting a seat at the table to build close working relationships with the government and evolve the initial agreement to ensure even greater benefits can be brought. 

“As IPPR North acknowledges itself, this is not necessarily about where you begin, but where you’re going that counts – stating that a devolution deal is ‘just the beginning of a process that requires work, but has the potential to be transformative’.

“This means negotiating further deals in the future with the Government to bring even more decision-making powers and funding to York and North Yorkshire.”

Council officials also pointed to analysis by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, a partnership group between civic leaders and businesses in the north of England.

Read more:

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• North Yorkshire devolution concentrates power into ‘hands of few’
• Mayor for North Yorkshire agreed in £540m historic devolution deal

The research found that the £540 million investment would provide £23.31 per head of population per year across North Yorkshire and York — the second highest in the north.

It added that the only agreement which was higher was in North of Tyne, which amounted to £24.69 per person.

By comparison, the Liverpool City Region’s devolution deal provided £19.68 per head of population through the annual gainshare, while the figure is £10.88 in Greater Manchester.

Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: 

“The £540 million which York and North Yorkshire has secured should go a long way towards transforming public services and driving up productivity in the region.

“Whether this means improving education and skills, providing better transport links, tackling climate change or ensuring better quality jobs and career opportunities, the funding under the investment fund is a vital resource for any devolution deal.

“Most importantly, the deal means the region gets a directly-elected mayor who will remain accountable to their voters.

“The very nature of devolution is about bespoke, local solutions which means that it’s normal to see some variation in what each authority has received in terms of funding.

“It’s also important to remember that the investment fund is just one element of any deal. Greater Manchester, for example, also has a housing investment fund.”

North Yorkshire’s leaders are keeping their cards close to their chests in the face of calls for a referendum on the creation of a new Harrogate town council.

With local government reorganisation fast approaching, a consultation is currently underway on whether Harrogate should keep control of some key services and buildings by becoming a parished area.

But borough councillors were last night unanimous in their calls that the consultation does not go far enough and that a public vote is needed.

Cllr Richard Cooper, the Conservative leader of Harrogate Borough Council, told a meeting that the process of creating a town council would be a “sham” unless a ballot was held before residents are asked to pay an extra tax to fund it.

He put forward a motion which was supported by all political parties and called on North Yorkshire County Council to give “democratic legitimacy” to the town council plans by holding a vote.

However, when later asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the county council refused to say whether a referendum would go ahead.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, said in a statement: 

“We will consider Harrogate Borough Council’s motion when and if it arrives, but we are in a period of consultation already about whether residents in that area want to continue with a governance review or not.”

Read more:

• Harrogate town council: What is it and what would it cost taxpayers?
• Decision on Harrogate town council could take two years

Currently, Harrogate and Scarborough are the only major towns in North Yorkshire not to be parished and there have been growing calls for new town councils to be created.

Those calls were first ignited when the government announced that North Yorkshire’s existing county and district councils would be scrapped from April 1 next year when a new unitary authority will take control of the whole county.

A central pledge in the major shake-up was what leaders described as a “double devolution” of powers, with plans for all town and parish councils to be given the chance to take on greater responsibilities.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council.

This could include a Harrogate town council running services such as parks, tourism and events.

However, it remains unclear on exactly what responsibilities would be filtered down and how much residents would have to pay to fund them.

In Knaresborough and Ripon, residents currently pay their respective town and city councils £25.27 and £70.77 per year.

At last night’s meeting, Cllr Cooper said it was crucial that Harrogate residents knew how much they would pay and for which services before a town council is created.

He said: 

“Asking the public if they want a new town council without informing them what it might do and how much extra council tax they would have to pay is not a meaningful conversation.

“And if as everyone tells me that the people of Harrogate are clamouring for a town council, then what do we have to fear?”

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, also said: 

“I have absolutely no problem with a referendum – that is good liberal democracy.

“We can ask North Yorkshire to hold one, but I am slightly worried that they will reject it and continue with the process they have started.”

The areas which would be served by a Harrogate town council include:

• High Harrogate and Kingsley
• Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate
• Fairfax and Starbeck
• Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone
• Harlow and St Georges
• Bilton Grange and New Park
• Bilton and Nidd Gorge
• Most of Coppice Valley and Duchy
• Parts of Oatlands and Pannal
• Parts of Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate

To have your say on the current consultation, go to the county council website here.

Senior Conservative councillors in Harrogate are set to call for a referendum on whether to create a town council.

Harrogate Borough Council will no longer exist from April 1 when the new unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council, is created.

If a new town council is created it could be given control over areas including parks, tourism and events.

Some think a town council would boost local decision-making while others regard it as an unnecessary extra layer of bureaucracy.

Next week, Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of the council, and Cllr Graham Swift, deputy leader of the authority, will table a motion calling on the county council to hold a referendum.

Cllr Richard Cooper (left) and Cllr Graham Swift.

North Yorkshire County Council has launched a review into whether to create a lower tier authority in the town. A consultation into the matter is currently being held.

The motion, which will go before a full borough council meeting on September 21, says:

“This council calls upon North Yorkshire County Council to hold a binding referendum of Harrogate town residents who would be constituents of a new Harrogate Town Council to determine whether such a council should be formed.

“Information should be made available before the vote on what duties the new town council will have and how much the additional council tax precept will be to pay for those duties.

“Such a referendum will give democratic legitimacy to the new town council in the eyes of those who fund it and are affected by its decisions.”

Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats have already called for Harrogate to have its own town council.

Read more:

• Harrogate town council: What is it and what would it cost taxpayers?
• Decision on Harrogate town council could take two years

Harrogate and Scarborough are the only major places in North Yorkshire not to be parished.

Earlier this year, Conservative leader of the county council, Cllr Carl Les, said he hoped the matter could be resolved “as soon as possible”.

When asked when the referendums could be held, Cllr Les told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that this was currently unclear. He said:

“We are getting a lot of requests about town councils made to us from people including local politicians, as well as the business community and groups like Harrogate Civic Society.

“There is clearly an appetite to do something about this.

“And of course the sooner we can do it, the sooner we can find out whether there is an appetite amongst the general population.

“They are the key people in all of this. They have to be asked for their opinion and will say yea or nay.”

A public consultation over setting up a town council for Harrogate is currently open. You can have your say here.

The consultation will close on September 30.

A council overseeing sweeping changes to local government in North Yorkshire has hit back at criticism of the proposed overhaul, saying it would represent the biggest strengthening of democracy in generations.

Leading members of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive dismissed claims that hundreds of elected community representatives on district and borough councils are set to be replaced by just two councillors on a mayoral combined authority, saying the two levels of local government were not comparable.

Concerns were initially raised by the county’s borough and district councils over residents’ representation ahead of proposals for a single unitary authority being agreed.

Recent weeks have seen opposition members repeatedly highlight how proposals to create a new tier of local government in a mayoral combined authority for North Yorkshire and York include plans to have two decision-making members from the county and two from the city, alongside an elected mayor.

The proposals being consulted on this autumn would make the county, with a population of more than 600,000, and York, which has more than 200,000 residents, equally represented on the mayoral combined authority.

Speaking ahead of a public consultation over the proposed devolution deal as part of the changes, a number of councillors have stated the overhaul would erode residents’ ability to shape key decisions.

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• Strayside Sunday: Is the £540m Devolution Deal good enough?
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Earlier this month Independent councillor John McCartney, who represents Osgoldcross, said many residents engaged in local democracy felt “irked and discombobulated” as their local councils were being swapped for a remote one in what he described as “a power grab” by County Hall in Northallerton.

However, it is understood senior North Yorkshire figures are comfortable with the disparity in representation as they are keen to foster a partnership with their York counterparts, and believe a fair balance will be struck by the elected mayor.

The authority’s deputy leader, councillor Gareth Dadd, told a meeting of the executive yesterday claims that the devolution deal would lead to “a dilution of democracy and that the world as we know would cease to exist” were far from reality.

He said:

“In my view it is an absolute strengthening of democracy.

“I suspect a mayoral election will take place in 2024 and the 800,000 good folk of York and North Yorkshire will have the ability to make a choice about who is actually heading up the spending of that extra money that was decided its course in Westminster, County Hall and the Guildhall.

“It will be the biggest strengthening in democracy, in my view, that we have seen in generations for this part of the world.”

Executive member for climate change and customer engagement Councillor Greg White added while the extra funding and greater discretion over the spending of public money from devolution in North Yorkshire and York was to be welcomed, the real prize would be in having an elected mayor who could deal directly with government.

A review of proposed sweeping changes to local government in North Yorkshire and York has concluded having an elected mayor and a combined authority “will promote local democracy”.

The claim, in a report to a meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive on Tuesday, comes ahead of an eight-week public consultation over the devolution deal that local authorities have struck with the government alongside local government reorganisation.

Concerns have been raised repeatedly by councillors in North Yorkshire that the substitution of the county’s district, borough and county councils for a single unitary council and a mayor-led combined authority will erode residents’ ability to shape key decisions.

Earlier this month, Independent Cllr John McCartney said many residents engaged in local democracy felt “irked and discombobulated” as their local councils were being swapped for a remote one in what he described as “a power grab” by county hall in Northallerton.

Independent group leader Cllr Stuart Parsons described the potential substitution of hundreds of district and borough representatives for two North Yorkshire and two City of York councillors on a combined authority as a blow for democratic representation and decision-making.

Green Party group coordinator Cllr Andy Brown said devolution “did not appear to be a great exercise in democracy” in the county.

However, the officer’s report to the executive highlights how local government reorganisation was a prerequisite of devolution, which under the proposed deal would bring £540m of new government investment to spend on local priorities.

The report states: 

“The deal means that decisions previously taken centrally would now be taken closer to the people affected and the region is not disadvantaged as other regions acquire their own devolution deals.

“The proposed mayoral combined authority will promote local democracy through direct democratic accountability. The introduction of a directly-elected mayor will enable a greater focus for change that will seek to enhance economic growth.”

Read More:

• North Yorkshire devolution concentrates power into ‘hands of few’
• Mayor for North Yorkshire agreed in £540m historic devolution deal
• Explained: What is North Yorkshire’s combined authority?

The county council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said the consultation would see the authority argue very strongly that the devolution deal would see more decision-making by locally elected politicians, rather than civil servants and ministers in Whitehall.

He said while much of the structure of local government in North Yorkshire would not change, the most notable differences would be having an elected mayor to act as a strong voice for the county and city and a combined authority to provide strategic decision-making.

Addressing concerns over local democracy, Cllr Les said while all residents would continue to a locally elected councillor to represent them, the council was in talks with a number of parish and town councils about what services they would like to have jurisdiction over.

He said there was “nothing on or off the table” in terms of the powers towns and parishes could take on.

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In August, Parliament was not sitting as it was in recess over the summer. Nonetheless, Conservative MPs faced questions over what the government was doing to tackle the cost of living crisis and allegations that they voted voted in favour of pumping raw sewage into rivers and the sea.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Andrew Jones

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found out on Mr Jones:

• On August 3, Andrew Jones welcomed the Treasury’s response to his letter which ensured people connected to LPG gas bottles would get government support with their energy bills.
• Mr Jones strongly criticised claims that he voted to allow the pumping of sewage into rivers and the sea. He said the claims were “simply a lie”.
• Mr Jones called on people to get involved with the “national mission” to beat dementia by signing up to Join Dementia Research.
• The former Rail Minister told Transport for the North that investing in public transport was “going to be a main part of how we recover from the economic problems caused by the pandemic and inflation,” as well as reducing carbon emissions.
• Mr Jones also backed York to be the headquarters of the new government rail body Great British Railways.
• On August 31, he held an advice surgery in Knaresborough market.

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• MPs watch: Vote of no confidence and overriding the Brexit deal

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

Julian Smith

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• On August 5, Mr Smith welcomed the £11,000 awarded by Historic England to the Ripon Museums Trust to investigate the lives of disabled people in the city’s workhouse.
• Mr Smith regularly tweeted his support for Rishi Sunak in the Conservatives’ leadership election, which ends on September 5.
• Mr Smith held meetings with small business owners in his constituency. He tweeted that it was “clear urgent intervention is also required” for small businesses as well as households.
• On August 1, Mr Smith welcomed the devolution deal signed by North Yorkshire County Council, the City of York Council and the government, as well as Richard Flinton’s appointment as the chief executive of the new North Yorkshire Council.
• Mr Smith tweeted that “the new UK PM & the EU need to listen and step up” over work to secure a deal on Brexit-related issues in Northern Ireland.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

Nigel Adams

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

• On August 1, Mr Adams said he was “delighted” by the new devolution deal.
• Mr Adams posted on his website about the consultation to upgrade the A64 near York, on the main route between Harrogate and the North Yorkshire coast.
• Mr Adams also hit back at claims that he had allowed the pumping of sewage into waterways. He tweeted that the “fake news brigade and their gullible followers aren’t interested in facts” relating to the UK’s sewage system.
• It was reported that Mr Adams could be in line for a peerage in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s list of resignation honours. Such a move would trigger a by-election in his constituency. Mr Adams previously confirmed that he would stand down at the next election.