Local government reorganisation in North Yorkshire is “blatant gerrymandering” by the Tory government and will create Europe’s least democratic local authority, it has been claimed.

Some elected members serving on the county’s seven district and borough councils say it has become increasingly apparent the forthcoming North Yorkshire Council was being introduced by the government to consolidate power in the hands of the Conservative Party from April 2023.

While North Yorkshire’s 225 district and borough councillors represent the same residents as the 72 county councillors, the Conservative Party has 74% of county seats but just 51% of elected members on the district and borough councils.

The district and borough councils feature almost 29% of Independent and Green councillors, but less than 17% on the county council. Labour and Liberal Democrat groups on the county council have less than half the share of seats they have on district and borough authorities.

Although opposition councillors have alleged the new authority’s 89 divisions, many of which resemble the existing county council divisions, have been designed to favour the Conservatives, senior Tories leading the changes have dismissed suggestions the division boundaries were politically motivated.

The Green Party and Independent councillor for Catterick Leslie Rowe said a study by the District Council’s Network had found creating unitary authorities for counties would in North Yorkshire’s case lead to the least democratic local authority in Europe, with each of the 90 councillors representing around 7,000 people.

He said:

“Compare this to Barking and Dagenham Council, which is also undergoing reorganisation, with each councillor there representing 3,200 people.

“Clearly, the sole justification for this costly local government reorganisation is to consolidate power into the hands of the Conservative Party.”

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County council opposition leader Stuart Parsons said the creation of the new authority was “blatant political gerrymandering” by the government as the smaller neighbouring county of Cumbria was being split into two councils to ensure the Conservatives were in control of at least one local authority there.

He said:

“It’s fairly obvious this is Conservative Party politics and they are hoping they will be able to dominate the new local authority in the same way they have dominated the county council, but have had less success in some of the borough and district councils.

“They don’t like not being in control and get very upset when they lose control of a council. However, it could nicely backfire on them. The public are not over the moon about the Tories at the moment and there’s a great opportunity in May to have as few Tories re-elected as possible.”

However, the authority’s Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Bryn Griffiths said while local government reorganisation was a political move, he believed the changes represented an opportunity for a more politically diverse council covering the county.

He said:

“If candidates listen to their communities and put their community’s views forward I think there is a better chance of a more representative county, but if you haven’t got proportional representation you get stuffed.”

County council leader Councillor Carl Les said claims that the new authority would be Europe’s least democratic were wrong as at least one unitary council, Leeds, had a smaller proportion of councillors to residents.

When asked if the reorganisation had been motivated by politics, Coun Les replied:

“No. It’s a move to make sure we get the benefits of negotiating devolution asks with the government.”

Local councils across the Harrogate district are to be given the chance to take back control of public buildings and services under what has been described as a “golden opportunity” for communities.

When Harrogate Borough Council was created in 1974 it took over ownership of several key assets, including Ripon Town Hall and Knaresborough House.

But almost half a century later the borough council is now coming to an end as it will be scrapped and replaced with a new unitary authority covering the whole of North Yorkshire from April next year.

These major reorganisation plans have stoked widely-raised concerns over the future of many buildings which are key meeting places for communities and also play a crucial role in delivering local services and supporting the visitor economy.

‘Rightful owners’

Ripon Independents Cllr Pauline McHardy last night made calls for the borough council to kick-start the process by offering support to local councils that may want to submit any takeover plans.

She told a full council meeting this would be a “golden opportunity for assets across the district to be transferred back to their rightful owners”.

She said: 

“In 1974, the people of Ripon and its council had no say in their assets being transferred at no cost to Harrogate Borough Council.

“Now we want them given back to parish, city and town councils for the same as Harrogate Borough Council paid – nothing.”

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Cllr McHardy put forward a motion outlining her requests and was supported by the Liberal Democrats, including Knaresborough mayor Cllr Christine Willoughby who said it “can not be right” for local councils to pay for buildings which they once owned.

However, after a stormy debate both parties ended up voting against the motion, which was amended by Conservative council leader Richard Cooper, who said local councils would be able to “procure” the assets.

Ripon Town Hall.

This sparked questions over whether local councils would have to pay, but Cllr Cooper said this “does not necessarily mean cash changing hands”.

He also said the motion first put forward “simply isn’t legal” as the borough council itself can not produce takeover plans for its own buildings to be run by local councils.

Cllr Cooper said: 

“Seeking to get better services for residents run from these assets is where we should be focusing.

“If parishes can do it better and put together a delivery plan – great.

“I wish them all well and good luck in managing those services from parish, city and town councils. But what I am seeking to do is make sure they get control of assets and run great services from them legally, quickly and sensibly.

“The original motion I’m afraid just won’t do that.”

What will happen in Harrogate?

The prospect of a new town council for Harrogate is highly likely under the reorganisation plans and something which has been supported by all political parties.

Among the key assets which the town council could take over include the likes of the Stray, the Royal Hall, Royal Baths, the Pump Room Museum, the Sun Pavilion and more.

There are also questions over what will happen to council offices, not least to mention Harrogate Borough Council’s new civic centre headquarters.

At the moment, Harrogate and Scarborough are the only major towns in North Yorkshire not served by a parish or town council.

North Yorkshire County Council has previously said services such as parks and markets could be run by a town council, while areas including planning and highways may be handled by a Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee on the new unitary authority.

It has also said it is supportive of the idea of a Harrogate Town Council, although this would require a community governance review and could lead to a local referendum with a vote from residents.

The ball started rolling on a devolution deal worth £2 billion to North Yorkshire this week when the government announced it had opened negotiations with county council officials.

North Yorkshire devolution was included in the levelling up white paper, which included plans for a mayoral combined authority for North Yorkshire and York.

The move will be seismic for the county over the coming years as the face of local government changes with the county council and all seven district councils scrapped, and a single North Yorkshire Council set up.

York, however, will continue to be run separately by its current City of York Council.

The new era for politics in North Yorkshire will also see the county get a combined authority, headed by an elected mayor.

But what is a combined authority and what would it do? The Stray Ferret has looked in detail at the proposal.

What is a combined authority?

A combined authority is a body set up for two or more councils to make joint decisions.

In this case, the upcoming North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council would come together to make decisions on matters such as economic development and transport.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority head offices on Wellington Street, Leeds.

It will be a separate body to North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council.

The closest example of this is West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which recently has led on the £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme, as well as similar schemes in Skipton and Selby.

The combined authority would be headed by a mayor who is directly elected by the public.

In West Yorkshire, Labour and Co-Operative representative Tracy Brabin has been the elected mayor of the county and head of the combined authority since 2021.

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The authority, which has head offices on Wellington Street in Leeds, operates on a committee system and includes elected councillors and council leaders from Kirklees, Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds, Wakefield and York. It has more than 500 staff.

What decisions will it make?

The combined authority’s powers focus mainly on overarching matters that affect more than one place, for example transport, bus franchising and economic development.

Services such as bin collections and highways will remain with the unitary council.

Council bosses in North Yorkshire are hoping to replicate the mayoral combined authority in Tees Valley as an example of what they feel is good practice.

The Tees Valley authority is headed by Conservative mayor, Ben Houchen, and is made up of council leaders from Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington and a representative from Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership.

Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, and Kate Willard from Stobart Group outside Durham Tees Valley Airport following the purchase by the combined authority. Picture: Tees Valley CA.

Unlike West Yorkshire, Tees Valley CA operates on a cabinet system.

Mr Houchen and the council leaders make up the cabinet, which makes decisions on matters including economic development, skills and transport.

In 2019, the combined authority made a major decision to bring Durham Tees Valley Airport back into public ownership by purchasing it for £40 million.

Since then it has set out a 10-year plan for the airport with operator Stobart Group and renamed it Teeside International Airport.

Why do we need a combined authority?

Council leaders in North Yorkshire have been pushing for a devolution deal for many years in order to bring some powers and funding back from Westminster.

As part of the deal, a mayor and a combined authority must be put in place.

North Yorkshire council officials feel the move will help the county be able to make strategic decisions jointly with York.

But Richard Flinton, chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council said that the devolution deal, including the combined authority, would be about more than just funding.

He said:

“What we have seen with other combined authorities is that it’s not necessarily about the devolution deal.

“What we have seen is a strong voice for a single county. This is not just about the deal, it is about constant engagement with government.”

What happens now?

County council officials will now go into negotiations with government over a devolution deal.

As part of those discussions, a timetable set could see the combined authority come into place by next year.

Mr Flinton told a press conference this week that this could also mean that an election could be held for a mayor of North Yorkshire and York by 2024.

The number of Harrogate district councillors is set to be slashed in half in what has been described as a “step back for local representation”.

In May’s elections, 21 councillors for the district will be chosen to serve on the new North Yorkshire Council – far fewer than the 42 currently on Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, which will both be scrapped in April 2023.

The arrangements, recently announced as part of draft legislation, have been criticised by Harrogate’s Liberal Democrats who have raised concerns that residents’ voices will be diluted.

Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition party on Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“We see the significant reduction in councillors as a step back in terms of local representation on the new North Yorkshire Council.

“This change is being forced on us and Liberal Democrats were not in support of the proposed warding arrangements, and in fact submitted an alternative proposal to central government which they did not support.”

Make things simpler

Overall, the new North Yorkshire Council will have a total of 90 councillor seats – 18 more than the existing county council.

It has been argued that the arrangements will make things simpler for residents who under the current two-tier system can have two different councillors, each with different responsibilities over services from bin collections to highways.

The new North Yorkshire Council will be made of 89 new divisions and councillors will serve for one year as county councillors before transferring to the new authority in April 2023.

After this, the next elections will then take place in 2027.

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The new divisions have been set out by government in a draft Structural Changes Order which MPs are expected to approve by March.

Harrogate Borough Council previously chose not to submit its own warding proposals last September when its Conservative leader councillor Richard Cooper said he would be “content” with what has now been proposed.

But Cllr Marsh said she believed the areas that councillors will represent will be “too large”. She also said although her party had opposed reorganisation, it was now pushing for greater powers to be handed to area committees and parish and town councils.

This includes powers being granted to a potential Harrogate Town Council – an idea which the Conservatives have also supported.

Councillor Marsh said:

“The Liberal Democrats have not been in support of this massive change in local government representation, particularly in the middle of a global pandemic.

“As the champions of localism and the moving of decision making closer to residents, we do support the increase in powers for the new area committees and the potential for town and parish councils to be able to deliver services and manage local assets if they so choose.”

As the formation North Yorkshire Council edges closer, questions have been raised over where the new authority should be based.

From April 2023, North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and the six other district authorities will be abolished and replaced with a new council.

A decision has yet to be made on where the new North Yorkshire Council will be based.

North Yorkshire County Council is based at County Hall in Northallerton, which is the hot favourite to be home to the new unitary authority.

But Harrogate’s modern Civic Centre has been suggested as an alternative. Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, told a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting this month that Harrogate’s Knapping Mount had a case.

He said:

“It’s still not decided where the new council will be and it could be Harrogate. It would certainly have the best office facilities in North Yorkshire.”

No decision will be made on the location until after the May local government elections. So what are Harrogate’s prospects and what is at stake?

Harrogate or Northallerton?

The location of the new authority will be one of the key decisions that councillors make in the coming 12 months.

Ninety councillors will be elected to North Yorkshire Council, covering 650,000 residents and 32,000 businesses across England’s largest county.

The location of the new council matters because most key decisions will be made there.

Across North Yorkshire, Harrogate is the highest populated town with 75,070 people. The town itself is one of the two main urban areas in the county, along with Scarborough, and benefits from transport links, a vibrant hospitality sector and various public facilities.

North Yorkshire County Council offices in Northallerton.

It also has a modern council facility. The Knapping Mount headquarters, which staff moved into in July 2020, is purpose-built for local government. It is designed to accommodate 500 staff.

The council said the building cost £13 million. However, the Stray Ferret investigated the overall cost of the move from Crescent Gardens and put the figure closer to £17 million.

County Hall in Northallerton was built in 1906 and has served as the headquarters of various local governments in North Yorkshire, including North Riding County Council up until 1974.

The grade II listed building underwent a £500,000 refurbishment in 1999.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council. Picture: NYCC.

Conservative Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret that it would make sense for the new council to remain at county hall.

However, he added that the authority does plan to implement local office space for staff and a “double devolution” agenda for local decision making.

He said:

“It will be for the new council to decide. But there is a lot of jobs in Northallerton.

“It would not make sense to move from Northallerton.”

The sentiment is echoed by Liberal Democrat Cllr Philip Broadbank, who represents Starbeck on the county council. He said:

“There is a high chance it would in Northallerton because it is more central.

“The Harrogate council has been mentioned, but it needs to be central.”

But for Independent Cllr Stuart Parsons, the future needs to be based around regional decision making.

Cllr Parsons, who represents Richmond on the county council, said the council needed to be “trimmed” and decision-making should be spread around the county.

He said:

“I suspect they [the council[ see themselves where they are. But no one has thought to ask if that is sensible.”

Why does the council’s location matter?

Much of the criticism over the new council is that it is too remote.

The county is scattered in terms of populations, with an estimated 160,830 people in the Harrogate district compared to 55,380 in Ryedale.

Having such a large county makes the headquarter issue even more important.

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For example, if a planning decision relates to Starbeck the issues are more likely to be understood by council officers based in Harrogate than in Northallerton

Cllr Parsons said there needed to be a plan for how “double devolution”, which would give powers to local areas, is distributed.

“There needs to be a short, medium and long-term plan. We are nowhere near that.”

What happens now?

County council leaders have said a decision on where the new council will be based will not be made until after the May elections.

Currently, an implementation board made up of senior council officers and an implementation executive, which includes cabinet members from across the county, is working through proposals.

Once the new councillors are elected, decisions will be made on matters such as location, planning, senior management committees ahead of North Yorkshire Council coming into operation in April 2023.

Elections will take place on May 5 to elect councillors to the new North Yorkshire Council.

The current two-tier system, where North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council provide different services locally, will be replaced by a single-tier system with one council in charge of England’s largest county.

A Structural Changes Order laid before Parliament, which paves the way for the elections, has confirmed the new council will be called North Yorkshire Council.

Councillors elected in May will serve on North Yorkshire County Council until April 1 2023 when they will move over to the new council.

Existing Harrogate borough councillors will remain in place until North Yorkshire Council is created.

There will be 90 new councillors in North Yorkshire Council, representing 89 divisions.

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

“This is an exciting moment for North Yorkshire and one which I hope people will look back on in the future as a game-changer for the county’s economic fortunes. The new single council will give our county a much stronger voice regionally and nationally and allows us to bring together the very best of all eight councils to build the best possible new one.

“These are very important elections, because the councillors voted in this May will serve the final year of the county council and then they will be the voice of the people for the first four years of the new single council.”

Background to the shake-up

The government announced on July 21, 2021 there would be a new single council for North Yorkshire.

The first day of the new North Yorkshire Council will be 1 April 2023.

On the first day of the new council, the current North Yorkshire County Council, the borough councils of Harrogate and Scarborough and the district councils serving Craven, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Ryedale and Selby will cease to exist.

Until then all eight councils in the county will continue to run their own services and make their own decisions, while working together on the change programme.

North Yorkshire County Council could dip into its reserves to balance its books in the next financial year.

Ahead of a budget meeting next week, senior county councillors have warned that the council may have to use up to £11 million of its reserves — despite hiking council tax rate.

The authority currently has £271 million in reserves, much of which is earmarked for capital projects and other costs, such as £31 million to fund the transition to the upcoming new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, said the authority still faced risks over the ongoing impact of covid and social care.

He said:

“We are facing an unprecedented range of risks – the continuing impact of covid, harsh winters and climate change, the need for interventions to prop up social care, the escalating costs of transport for special educational needs students, to name but a few.

“These pressures are such that given the need to continue to deliver key services at a time of rising demand and the need to successfully transition to a new council, our final budget will require a higher degree of support from reserves than would otherwise be the case or is desirable.”

County councillors will meet next week to decide whether to support proposals for its budget for 2022/23.

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Among the plans will be an increase in council tax. The county council has the power to hike its rate by as much as 4.5%.

Depending on the level of council tax set, the county council will have to use between £6 million and £11 million of its reserves.

The authority has also warned it will still face a black hole of at least £30 million in three years, even if it levies the maximum permitted council tax rise this year.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, deputy leader and executive member for finance, said: 

“These continue to be turbulent times. We are responding to increased pressures that the pandemic has placed on our communities and the county’s economy.

“At the same time, long-term challenges grow, for example the massive pressures in social care. This means we face further tough choices as we budget for the future.”

From the running of Harrogate Convention Centre to bin collections, the district’s public services will change in 18 months when devolution kicks in.

One of the major questions confronting Harrogate in 2023 will be what assets it wants to retain control of.

North Yorkshire County Council, which successfully bid for the new unitary council model, has promised “double devolution”.

That means a town council will be able to bid for assets — even though this may see council tax precepts hike up.

One of the Harrogate district’s biggest assets is its convention centre. Harrogate Borough Council has long sold it as an economic benefit to the town.

But it soon could become an economic vehicle which is no longer controlled locally.

HCC as an economic asset

In April 2023, a process known as “vesting day” will be held. This will see assets of all seven district councils moved to the control of North Yorkshire Council, the proposed name of the new unitary authority.

Among those which will be transferred is Harrogate Convention Centre.

The HCC has for a decade been sold as a £60 million benefit to the district – though this dropped to £35 million according to minutes from a council meeting held in December 2019.

An economic impact summary used to assess the value of the HCC in 2016/17.

With the HCC no longer in the district’s control, the question becomes what will its future be and what role will it play under the unitary council?

North Yorkshire Council officials will have to decide whether it is a strategic asset to them or not.

The new authority will have its own tourism and economic agenda, which the HCC may be included in.

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However, the council will also have to factor in assets in other districts, including Scarborough, Richmondshire and Craven, and have to decide whether to retain control of the HCC after 2023.

Harrogate Borough Council, which will no longer exist in 2023, has long felt that an arms length approach to running the centre is the best approach. It has put public money into the HCC and has since planned a £47 million renovation of the site.

In its annual report in 2019, the council said:

“We are responding to the challenges of the changing nature of the conference industry by redeveloping the Harrogate Convention Centre site.

“The facility contributes around £55 million a year to the local economy and has an important role to play in the district.”

However, the HCC is one of only two conference centres to be run by a local council. The other is Brighton Centre.

The unitary council may feel that the operating model of the HCC needs to change.

Town council control?

Given the scale of the asset and the uncertainty over how a unitary authority based elsewhere in the county will treat it, the question then becomes whether the HCC can be controlled locally?

Should the county council’s “double devolution” agenda come to fruition, a Harrogate authority could bid for control the HCC.

But, given that town councils elsewhere have had to significantly hike up their council tax precepts to pay for modest assets, it may be a tall order for an authority with fewer resources to handle.

Jonathan Webb, senior research fellow at the think tank IPPR North, told the Stray Ferret that any council-run public assets needed to benefit the wider area.

He was critical of the government’s “patchwork” devolution agenda, but added that some services are better run by larger authorities.

Mr Webb said:

“Different authorities will have different systems and I think part of the problem is that the public is not aware of how it works.

“The challenge of creating this new council is it is an extremely large area. The largest at the moment is Cornwall.”

Mr Webb added that the question for the unitary council is whether it can run services in Harrogate better or not.

“Does the unitary deliver anything better. Does it give them more resources or does it affect it?”