north yorkshire county council Archives - Page 9 of 96

How will the Masham by-election defeat affect North Yorkshire Conservatives?

The Conservatives in North Yorkshire suffered a blow this week after losing the Masham and Fountains by-election.

Liberal Democrat Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, the Countess of Swinton, took the North Yorkshire County Council seat which had previously been held by long-serving Conservative Margaret Atkinson.

It’s the latest defeat for the local Tories, who failed to win a majority in Harrogate and Knaresborough in last May’s local election.

That meant the Lib Dems seized control of the county council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee but the Conservatives retained overall control across the county.

But this week’s loss has reduced the Tories’ majority to just two and raised the prospect of the party losing overall control of the county for the first time in over 20 years.

A further dent in the Tories’ majority

In just eight weeks time, the upcoming North Yorkshire Council will take over local government in the county. Councillors will transfer from North Yorkshire County Council and serve for four more years.

The swing in power has been dramatic since May last year.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, the Liberal Democrats now hold 11 seats compared to two just nine months ago following this week’s election in Masham.

How the make-up of North Yorkshire County Council looked prior to the by-election.

The Masham result was particularly pertinent given that the Conservatives had won the seat in the May 2022 elections with 1,076 votes.

This week’s by-election was a two-horse race after the opposition Green Party pulled out of the contest in an effort to bolster the Lib Dems’ chances.

Overall, the Conservatives are the largest party with 46 seats on the council with opposition parties taking up 44.

The dent in the majority means the party are just one by-election away from losing overall power.

The loss of overall control would have implications for major decisions. Should the council be required to pass a tough budget with far reaching cuts or hike in council tax, it could result in a tight vote.

The make-up of the council could also lead to close votes on politically difficult topics, such as fracking.

However, such a controversial topics may also see other councillors from different political parties vote against their own party line.

‘You can promise the earth in opposition’

While the defeat may leave the Conservatives in a tough position on paper, local councillors are upbeat about the situation.

Cllr Nick Brown, who sits as a Conservative in the Wathvale and Bishop Monkton division, told the Stray Ferret that the party respected the electorate’s decision and that Tory councillors would continue to work for constituents.

He said the Liberal Democrats would find it “difficult” to put words into action.

Cllr Brown said:

“The opposition spoke a lot and talked a lot. But putting things into action would be very difficult.

“When you are in opposition, you can promise the earth.”

He added that he hoped the result was a “blip” for the local party.

He said:

“We live in a democracy and people can put their names forward.

“The electorate has spoken, sadly not in our favour. I hope this is a little blip on the horizon.”

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have taken the result in their stride.

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough parliamentary constituency, said the result “put the Tories on notice”.

He said:

“A fantastic result and win in what once was true blue North Yorkshire.

“It’s clear that the public, and the Lib Dems, are well and truly putting the Conservatives on notice in what issupposed to be their heartlands.”

Meanwhile, Green party Cllr Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn division, said it was not straight forward in opposing the Conservatives despite their slim majority.

He said:

“It’s not clear cut. We have to get all the opposition on the same side and get one Conservative.

“We have also got to make sure that everyone is there.”

Cllr Warneken added that he was prepared to work with any party and was not bound by “political dogma”.

“As an opposition councillor, I will work with everybody.”

‘Widespread’ support for North Yorkshire devolution plans questioned

North Yorkshire County Council has been urged to press on with its devolution plan amid claims it had received widespread public support, despite almost half of respondents to its consultation over the proposed governance change declining to support it.

The council’s Conservative-run executive will next Tuesday be asked to consider pressing ahead with plans to create a devolved government for the county and York, which it claims will bring “a host of benefits”, including new jobs, more affordable housing and measures to tackle climate change.

The council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said:

“To have so many people taking part in the public engagement is very welcome, as it shows the interest that is there on the proposed devolution deal.

“The responses will be carefully considered by the county council before a decision is taken to submit the results of the engagement to the government.”

Ahead of the meeting the authority issued a press release highlighting “widespread support” for its proposals, however a council report to the executive underlines some 46% cent of respondents to the consultation did not support the planned governance arrangements.

Leader of the opposition Independents group on the authority, Cllr Stuart Parsons, said:

“I find it astounding that the council believes the support for its devolution proposals is widespread.

“I would have thought if they had got 60 to 70% support they could claim that is widespread, but at the moment it sounds like it is thinly spread.”

An officer’s report to the executive recommends it endorses sending the consultation’s results to ministers to open the way for a combined authority, overseen by an elected mayor, which is scheduled to be established later this year.

Organisations ranging from the Tees Valley Combined Authority, the York to the Yorkshire Food, Farming and Rural Network said they recognised the proposed combined authority was a tried and tested way of building strong local leadership with new powers.

Of the 583 people who provided comments that supported the proposed governance arrangements, numerous people raised concerns over increased bureaucracy.

However, others said the proposal would result in an increase in democratic accountability, decentralising decision-making in York and North Yorkshire, enabling councils to “work together as one instead of piecemeal” and magnify the area’s voice on the national stage.

Supporters of the proposed deal said York and North Yorkshire could not compete for government funding with big cities in isolation and the proposed mayoral combined authority would offer both a stronger voice and routes to new and enhanced funding.

Nevertheless, of the 501 people who opposed the proposals, many raised concerns about increased bureaucracy, while others said there were too many politicians in the area without having the expense of a mayor and associated staff.

Opponents of the proposed devolution deal said it would introduce an additional layer of local government almost immediately after combining district, borough and county councils into a singular North Yorkshire Council.

Opponents also said the proposed system would erode democratic accountability, increasing distances between residents and decision-makers, taking power away into the large centres of population.

There were concerns expressed over the proportionality of representation between York and North Yorkshire, with many arguing that it would be fairer for the number of decision-making representatives on the proposed combined authority to be based on the two area’s populations.

Kingsley anger reaches ‘boiling point’ as another 162 homes set for approval

The beeping sound of lorries and diggers reversing fills the air. Mud covers the street. Planning application notices hang like baubles from lamp posts.

Welcome to Kingsley Road, a once quiet rural area on the edge of Harrogate that has become a permanent building site.

Some 600 homes are at various stages of construction in the nearby area. Work started years ago and shows no sign of ending.

On Tuesday, Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning committee is expected to approve a sixth development – Persimmon’s application for 162 homes in a field on Kingsley Drive. Some locals plan to demonstrate at the council offices in the hope of persuading the Conservative-controlled planning committee to reject the scheme.

Gary Tremble, pictured where more development is due to take place.

Gary Tremble, who lives on Kingsley Road, is at the forefront of local resistance. He is a member of Kingsley Ward Action Group, which was set up in 2019 because “we soon realised we needed to work together”.

By his own admission, Mr Tremble is a “pain in the arse campaigner” who bombards councillors of all political colours with emails complaining about uncovered lorries, the state of the roads, road safety and anything else that concerns people who live in the area. He says some Greens and Liberal Democrats “have been helpful” but the bulldozers keep coming. He says:

“There’s a lot of anger on this street and it will get worse if people keep ignoring us.

“I have to take time off otherwise I get angry all the time. But then you walk out the door and see another truck going past at 40mph.”

The proposed road closure leading to Bogs Lane

The homes are being built in a residential area off the already-congested Knaresborough Road. North Yorkshire County Council has now applied to block the through-route on to Bogs Lane, which some welcome on the grounds it will reduce local traffic. Others say it will just drive more vehicles on to Knaresborough Road.

All you can see in the Kingsley area is houses.

Mr Tremble says:

“The main issue is there is no infrastructure. You can’t build several hundred homes with no community centre, dentist or shop.”

He says if the Persimmon development is approved and more green land between Starbeck and Bilton is concreted over, many people will have had enough and look to move.

Other local people feel equally strongly. Darren Long says:

“It literally feels like we’re given more bad news on a daily basis. It’s now seven years since construction started on the first Barratt’s development and it shows no signs of stopping. It’s so sad that this has been allowed to happen.

“We were so excited to move here in 2017. It’s miserable living here now. Living with the constant construction traffic, proposed road closures, one way systems and the horrific traffic.”

Kingsley Park

Peter Nolan, who has lived in the Kingsley area for 49 years, says Harrogate Borough Council “should be ashamed of the state they have let this once quiet area get into”. He adds:

“I’ve never ever in all my years had to queue half way along Kingsley Road in a morning but now I quite often spend 20 minutes trying to get out onto Knaresborough Road.”

Resident Dee Downton added:

“I am more concerned about the effect of the normal day-to-day basics that impact the everyday person getting to their destinations or commute to work, the impact on air quality because it’s just one constant traffic jam, the impact when ambulances can’t get through, the danger to pedestrians crossing because a gap in the traffic is seen and a vehicle acts quickly but fails to see someone crossing the road.”

Developers have targeted Kingsley because the land is allocated for development on the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place,

They say the schemes bring much-needed housing to Harrogate.

Kingsley Road

But those living in the area are less enthusiastic. Anonymous posters appeared on the street recently urging locals to legally double park on the pavement to prevent developers’ lorries from passing.

Mr Tremble says such anger is understandable because feelings are reaching “boiling point”.

Andrew Hart, a postmaster in nearby Starbeck, sympathises and says the action group is “doing their best to right a massive wrong”, adding:

“I am appalled with the never ending chaos created by the developments and road closures along Kingsley. The whole infrastructure was never designed for this number of houses.

“We have ended up with serious health and safety issues, lack of local resources and a gridlocked Knaresborough Road and Starbeck.”

Tuesday’s planning committee can be watched live on Harrogate Borough Council’s YouTube page here.

New councillor ready to ‘get stuck in’ after Masham and Fountains win

The new councillor for Masham and Fountains has vowed to “make a difference” as she takes up her role.

Felicity Cunliffe-Lister won 1,349 votes in yesterday’s by-election in the Masham and Fountains division, called following the death of Conservative councillor Margaret Atkinson last year.

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister, who holds the title Countess of Swinton and owns the Swinton Estate, won the seat on North Yorkshire County Council at the second time of asking after coming second as an independent to Cllr Atkinson last year.

She said she was “really, really, really happy” to win, adding:

“I was hopeful it would turn my way. There’s a lot to do and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.”

She was supported at the count by veteran Harrogate councillors Pat Marsh and Philip Broadbank, as well as two of the party’s 2022 intake, Ripon Ure Bank & Spa councillor Barbara Brodigan and Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale councillor Andrew Murday.

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister receiving congratulations from fellow Liberal Democrats at the count in Ripon

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister added:

“It’s great that hopefully the tide is turning for the Lib Dems and people are recognising we are really effective in local government. We can make a difference and get things done.”

The count was held in Ripon last night and the result announced around midnight, along with the turnout of of 35.52%.

The victory for the Lib Dems means the Tories now have a majority of just two, although they are still far and away the largest party with 46 councillors.

The Lib Dems are the second largest party with 13 councillors.

Conservative Brooke Hull, the only other candidate in the by-election, said national issues played into the minds of voters.

She also criticised “mud-slinging” from the Liberal Democrats, including an accusation she was trying to distance herself from the Conservative Party in her campaign leaflets.

Ms Hull paid tribute to the former councillor Margaret Atkinson and said her legacy in the area will be remembered.

“I’m sad for Margaret. I would have liked to have won for her family. She’ll be remembered for what she did and her legacy. We all know she was a fantastic councillor.”

Council ‘examining best options’ for £1.8m Cardale Park land

County council bosses are “examining the best options” for land at Cardale Park in Harrogate after purchasing it for £1.8 million.

The three-acre site on Beckwith Head Road in Harrogate was previously owned by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health services in the district.

North Yorkshire County Council completed the purchase of the land last year.

At the time, the authority said it had bought the site in order to progress a “scheme to assist with social care market development in the Harrogate area”.

Cllr Michael Harrison, executive county councillor for health and adult services, said the council was now assessing how to use the land.

He said:

“We acquired the Cardale Park site with the intention of increasing the care services available in Harrogate.

“We are still in the process of examining the best options for meeting the community’s needs and will bring forward a scheme in due course.”

The land was previously given approval for a 36-bed mental health facility on the site, following the closure of Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Unit, which helped adults with mental illness.

However, those plans were dropped in 2019 and inpatients on the unit were sent to Foss Park Hospital in York instead.

North Yorkshire electoral change campaigners accused of wasting council’s time

Electoral change campaigners have been accused of wasting North Yorkshire County Council’s time after calling for ruling Conservative councillors to press colleagues in Westminster to introduce proportional representation.

A meeting of the council’s executive saw residents and councillors give impassioned responses to a proposal by the Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate and Kingsley, Chris Aldred, for it to endorse proportional representation at all elections.

The meeting heard at the 2019 general election, across the eight constituencies in North Yorkshire and York, the Conservatives received 54% of the votes cast, but ended up with seven out of the eight seats.

Campaigners told the meeting how analysis of the county council’s elections since 2005 had revealed that on average UKIP needed 15,500 votes per councillor, the Green Party 6,900, Labour 4,500, Liberal Democrats 3,500 and the Conservatives just 1,900.

The meeting heard claims that many residents believed their votes did not count, resulting in only 35% of those registered to vote taking part in last May’s council elections.

Campaigners called for North Yorkshire to lead the way for “a fairer future” and highlighted the region’s role in historic moments such as the women’s suffrage movement and action to abolish slavery.

The meeting was told the council’s Conservative administration had been formed despite the party’s candidates only receiving 41.3% of the votes, meaning nearly three in five of those who voted were not represented on the authority’s all-Tory decision-making executive.

After listening to numerous campaigners for 26 minutes, and opposition councillors state the reasoning behind the motions for a further 10 minutes, the authority’s deputy leader, Cllr Gareth Dadd, said the public would be “horrified” to learn the cost of officers’ and councillors’ time in considering the proposals.

He said:

“This is, let’s be clear about it, political posturing, by opposition members, grandstanding for no purpose in terms of outcome for this authority.

“We should be getting on with things that we have some control over.

“This should not be used again as a platform for self-indulgent and party political promotion.”

Cllr David Chance, executive member for corporate services, said there were pros and cons to any electoral system and while proportional representation could lead to more voices being heard, the electoral system could see more unstable coalition governments.

He added:

“The first-past-the-post system of voting has the advantage of providing a clear winner in every seat contested.

“It builds a strong relationship with the locally elected officials and is a well known system of voting that is easy to understand.”

Ahead of the executive agreeing that it would not support the proposal, which will be considered by the full council in May, Cllr Chance said electoral reform was an issue that Westminster politicians would decide, but that it was not on the government’s agenda.

Harrogate’s Otley Road to be dug up again

Harrogate’s Otley Road is to be dug up for the second time in just over a year.

Work is due to start on Monday, February 20 and last for two weeks subject to external factors such as weather.

North Yorkshire County Council contractors spent three months creating the first phase of the Otley Road cycleway between September and December 2021.

The same stretch of road is now set to be disturbed again to allow the firm City Fibre to install fibre optic cables that will enable people to receive full fibre-enabled broadband services.

City Fibre is nearing the end of a £46 million upgrade of broadband connectivity in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon. Otley Road will be the last area to be completed in Harrogate.

The county council was due to begin remedial work early this year on cycleway design faults and defects highlighted by residents and Harrogate District Cycle Action.

But a report to councillors for a meeting tomorrow says:

“In May 2022 the fibre optic network company City Fibre contacted North Yorkshire County Council with a request to install fibre optic cables down the full length of the newly constructed cycleway.

“We have negotiated with City Fibre to reinstate the full width of the cycleway at their expense. We will therefore carry out our outstanding remedial works once City Fibre have installed their apparatus.”

Kim Johnston, City Fibre area manager, said in a press release sent out previously that the firm will repair defects at its own expense when it makes good the road. She said:

“We are working closely with North Yorkshire County Council in this area as we understand that the footways on Otley Road have undergone recent resurfacing.

“With the council’s agreement, as part of City Fibre’s essential development works, the footways will be restored, including repairs to defects that North Yorkshire County Council were due to carry out.”

North Yorkshire County Council rejects calls to brand fracking as ‘inappropriate’

The leadership of North Yorkshire County Council has rejected calls to label fracking as “inappropriate”.

The council’s Conservative-led executive said it would not support Liberal Democrat and Green motions to declare hydraulic fracturing as inappropriate in the county, despite the council having declared a climate emergency and pushing forward plans to reduce carbon.

While the authority’s leaders have pointed towards Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reimposing the government’s ban on fracking which was last year lifted by Liz Truss, opposition councillors have claimed the moratorium could be ended again.

The recommendation to a full meeting of the authority later this month comes three years after Third Energy announced it would not use planning consent for the hydraulic fracturing of rock to extract gas in Ryedale which the council’s planning committee granted it, triggering a huge and sustained outcry.

The planning decision in 2016 lead to hundreds of thousands of pounds of North Yorkshire taxpayers money being spent on policing protests outside the Kirby Misperton site.

A meeting of the executive heard opposition members implore the authority to show leadership over climate change policies and agree that fracking, which was “the most polluting fossil fuel extraction” was incompatible with its ambition to be part of the country’s first carbon negative region.

Green councillor Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn, said the motions simply looked to reinforce the council’s policies over fracking.

He said:

“In this case we are not discussing the rights and wrongs of what we allow in our county, we are talking about saving our very existence.

“If we are going to ask all those third parties who are the major contributors to carbon emissions in this county to take us seriously, we can send strong messages out to tell them that we believe fracking is inappropriate.”

However, the authority’s top legal officer, Barry Khan, advised the executive that approving the motion could leave councillors open to accusations of pre-determining potential hydraulic fracturing planning applications, which in turn could undermine the council’s ability to decide on schemes.

He said the Localism Act stated councillors could not be accused of pre-determining a proposal solely on the basis of something they had previously stated and while some other councils may have taken “a more liberal view” of the legislation he believed a cautionary approach was right.

Mr Khan said approving the motion would create “an element of risk” that was unnecessary given that the council had already set out its positions in its Minerals and Waste Plan.

Cllr Simon Myers, whose executive portfolio includes planning, said those pushing the motions risked having decisions taken out of the hands of locally elected councillors and given to government inspectors instead.

The authority’s opposition leader Cllr Bryn Griffiths highlighted how neighbouring East Riding of Yorkshire Council, which also has significant amounts of its jurisdiction under oil and gas exploration licences, had recently passed a similar policy opposing fracking.

The Liberal Democrat said councils had set out their belief that fracking was environmentally-damaging without raising issues over pre-determination.

Green councillor Andy Brown added it was quite reasonable for a councillor to take a political position on fracking as well as sit on a planning committee and consider evidence about whether the proposal would be environmentally damaging.

Key Masham by-election to be held tomorrow: Meet the candidates

Voters in the Masham and Fountains division will go to the polls tomorrow to choose their next councillor.

The North Yorkshire County Council by-election follows the death of Conservative councillor Margaret Atkinson in November.

Liberal Democrat Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, who is the Countess of Swinton, is taking on the Conservative Brooke Hull.

The seat will become part of the new unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council, from April 1. It is a large, rural division that includes Kirkby Malzeard, Galphay, Grantley, Sawley, Cundall, Dishforth, Melmerby and North Stainley as well as Masham.

Following last May’s local elections, the Conservatives’ control of the 90-member authority was significantly dented.

They now hold 47 seats, with 43 belonging to opposition parties so they currently have a slender majority of just four in Northallerton, adding extra importance to tomorrow’s by-election. A Liberal Democrat victory would reduce the Tories’ majority to just two.

Last May’s election in the division saw Ms Atkinson win 1,076 votes, followed by Ms Cunliffe-Lister, who stood as an independent, with 738 votes. Liberal Democrat candidate Judith Hooper received 620 votes.

To find out locations of polling booths visit here.

Brooke Hull — Conservative Party

Brooke Hull lives in Burnt Yates and is employed by the Skipton and Ripon Conservative Party Association.

Her husband is Nathan Hull, the Conservative county councillor for the Washburn and Birstwith division, and they have five children together.

Ms Hull said family was at the heart of her decision to stand.

She said:

“I have a large family, we live in the area and we want it to continue to be a great place to live. That’s a priority. Its all local, local, local really.”

The 89 politicans that currently make up the council in Northallerton are overwhelmingly older males. Ms Hull hopes that by standing she can inspire younger women into politics.

She said:

“That’s why I stood, to be that example and role model. To say, you know what, it’s ok, get involved.”

Nationally, the Conservative Party is having a difficult time but Ms Hull said she believes voters will put those issues to one side and focus on things that matter to them. She said:

“At the end of the day you’ve got to let your voters know who they’re voting for, not just a party or a person, they’ve got to know what you stand for.”

For her, the key issues in the division include making sure young people can afford to live in the villages in which they grew up, tackling rural crime, supporting farmers and protecting the environment.

She added:

“They all matter to me and are on my doorstep.”

Felicity Cunliffe-Lister — Liberal Democrats

Ms Cunliffe-Lister has lived in Masham for 23 years and owns and runs the 20,000-acre Swinton Estate with her husband, which includes a luxury hotel and spa.

Ms Cunliffe-Lister believes she made a big impression during last year’s election but in order to win she needed to represent a party. She said the Liberal Democrats shared her “ethos and priorities.”

She hopes to give the rural division a strong voice on the new council. She believes the area has been neglected on Harrogate Borough Council, which will be abolished in less than two months’ time.

Ms Cunliffe-Lister added:

“Masham is a long way from Harrogate and we’re sometimes left to our own devices. People feel like their votes are taken for granted up here.”

She said the key issues for people in the division are feelings of isolation due to unreliable public transport, the state of the roads and motorists speeding through villages. She backs the 20’s Plenty campaign in areas where the community wants it.

Ms Cunliffe-Lister also believes the new council needs to ensure the environment is at the top of its agenda.

“I really feel the environment needs to be given more of a priority at county council. There’s a lot of lip service. We need to stop talking about it and act.”

Additional reporting by Stuart Minting, Local Democracy Reporter

Bid to introduce single taxi zone for North Yorkshire put on hold

A bid to merge seven taxi zones in North Yorkshire into one has been postponed after taxi drivers and disabled people claimed the move would be a retrograde step.

Opponents of North Yorkshire County Council’s proposed taxi policy told a meeting of the authority’s executive it would lead to taxis clogging up town centres and sparse cover in rural areas, particularly for wheelchair users.

Yesterday’s meeting heard that a working group of elected members with significant experience of licensing had made a series of recommendations which the council’s officers had “tossed aside like a pair of old slippers” and come up with a series of different proposals.

A consultation over the taxi policy showed most people were against it and, opponents claimed, the council’s leadership appeared to be reneging on a pledge to abide by its results.

Nick Moxon, chairman of North Yorkshire Disability Forum, said:

“The suggestion that one zone rather than seven will enable wheelchair users to find taxis on ranks in future lacks any credible evidence.”

The meeting heard concerns that a dearth of wheelchair-accessible taxis in many areas of the county meant that if taxis drivers were permitted to sit on ranks miles away, wheelchair users could be left with no means of transport.

Councillors were told there were no or scant wheelchair-accessible taxi services from numerous North Yorkshire stations and buses were not an acceptable alternative as wheelchair users could not safely use many rural bus stops.

The meeting heard it was council policy to improve transport access for disabled people but there was nothing in the new taxi policy that would increase the number of wheelchair-accessible taxis.

Harrogate cabbie speaks out

One Harrogate-based taxi driver told the meeting his colleagues had said if the policy was introduced they would immediately give up their wheelchair-accessible vehicles as they would not be viable.

He said:

“The vast majority, if not all, of the hackney carriage trade is totally against the proposals to create a one zone authority for the purpose of taxi trading as this will lead to certain livelier areas becoming swamped at peak times, leaving quieter rural areas with no supply at all, leaving residents in those areas vulnerable to getting home safely.”

Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of business and environmental services, said the authority was aware of the need for more wheelchair-accessible taxis and that officers intended to review its policies in 18 months.

The meeting heard the proposed policy incorporates the Department for Transport’s taxi and private hire vehicle best practice guidance and statutory standards, to ensure that the public continued to be provided with safe and accessible vehicles.

Councillors heard it would also provide a coherent regulatory framework for the trade across the county and that hackney carriage and private hire licence holders and taxi operators across the county would be treated equally.

The authority’s executive member for open to business, Councillor Derek Bastiman, said the working group’s findings had not been tossed aside.

However, the executive agreed to postpone considering the proposed policy until later this month in order to examine the working group’s recommendation to allow vehicles of up to 15 years in age to be licensed to help during the cost of living crisis.

A further dent in the Tories’ majority

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‘You can promise the earth in opposition’

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Brooke Hull — Conservative Party

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Felicity Cunliffe-Lister — Liberal Democrats

Harrogate cabbie speaks out

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