North Yorkshire parish councils suffering ‘death by apathy’North Yorkshire Council considers offloading public toiletsResidents demand progress on west Harrogate infrastructure plan

Residents’ groups in the west of Harrogate have expressed “total dissatisfaction” with infrastructure improvements in the area.

Seven parish councils and residents’ associations shared their frustrations with the lack of progress as thousands of new homes are built.

They said they had been promised a draft document almost a year ago but were yet to see it, or any other progress.

Rene Dziabas, chairman of Harrogate and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association, spoke on behalf of the groups at North Yorkshire Council‘s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee last week.

He said:

“At the time, we expressed the view that much of this work came over as incoherent and lacking any real structure. We were assured that a complete infrastructure strategy and associated delivery schedule would be made available in October of last year.

“Council representatives assured us that these documents would include clear objectives, clear deliverables, timings, supporting data and financial costings. This was a council commitment, not one initiated by us as stakeholders.

“Yet here we are in mid-2023 and the latest position is that consultants are still looking at the viability of what previous consultants have proposed.So far we have seen no hard detail whatsoever in relation to the infrastructure strategy and delivery schedule and no offer of meaningful engagement with the community.

“Recent correspondence would seem to indicate further delays therefore our overall concern is that this work when it eventually emerges will deliver an ineffective and inadequate package.”

Mr Dziabas said there were 4,000 new homes being built around the west of Harrogate, “the equivalent of a small town”.

Residents were concerned about the impact not just on roads, but on medical facilities, schools, buses and other infrastructure.

He said the local plan, which sets out where development can happen, was being put together more than a decade ago, yet there had been no changes to infrastructure to cope with the building that had already taken place.

He added:

“The reality is that we are now some years on and we see nothing that convinces us that there’s any sort of plan in place that will help to mitigate strains on the infrastructure to the west of Harrogate.”

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In response, NYC’s planning and transport departments issued a joint statement, which was read out by meeting clerk Mark Codman.

It said the local plan and related documents set a “clear framework” for development, while section 106 agreements with developers were used to leverage investment for infrastructure improvements.

A review and costings exercised had been commissioned by the previous councils, it said, and would provide “clarification and certainty”. It added:

“The complex nature of the work means it is not yet complete. Officers are prioritising this work, however the nature of strategic projects does sometimes involve unforeseen delays.”

Cllr Chris Aldred, who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley for the Liberal Democrats, said he was in agreement with the residents.

He recalled hearing a similar call for progress at a meeting a year before, and said he was frustrated to be in the same position now. He added:

“Really, we do need to get our act together on these matters, because people are living in a state of flux where nothing is happening and it’s not fair to the residents.

“I strongly want the executive to get on top of this. I know we’ve had the distraction of local government reorganisation and eight councils into one, but that has now been achieved and we really need to move on with these matters.

“i don’t want to be sitting here in a year’s time and having similar presentations from parish councils.”

Harrogate district parish councils ‘enraged’ by plans to set up unelected community networks

A Harrogate district councillor has said parish councils are “absolutely enraged” by plans to create Community Networks.

North Yorkshire County Council wants to create up to 30 networks to champion residents and businesses across the county.

It is hoped they will “fill the void” left by the abolition of district and borough councils, including Harrogate, in April next year. But some councillors have concerns about setting up unelected networks.

Nick Brown, a Conservative councillor representing Bishop Monkton, said democratically-elected parish councils in his area were “absolutely enraged at the potential for conflict” with the networks. He said:

“I do feel there’s going to be terrible trouble ahead, I’m sorry to say, with these parishes. They are very protective of their particular areas.”

Cllr Brown was speaking at a county council meeting this week which heard the networks would serve about a quarter of the population of a district or borough council and be largely based around towns.

Councillors were told it was hoped the networks would lead to greater collaboration and help communities become “the engine rooms of local action”.

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The meeting heard while the networks would be independent of the council, the council’s most senior managers would each be assigned networks to ensure strategic connections between the economic and social needs of local communities are made back into the council and with partners.

Officers stressed the networks were not about creating a new governance structure for the areas and they were not intended to undermine the legitimacy of the role of elected representatives on parish and town councils.

Too focused on towns

But several councillors branded them “undemocratic” and raised concerns over them becoming focused on towns rather than their rural hinterlands.

Craven District Council leader Cllr Richard Foster said:

“I don’t like the idea of non-democratic organisations being part of the formal structure of a democratic organisation.”

The meeting heard the networks had previously been set up across the county under different names by district and borough councils and some had proved effective in dealing with local matters.

However, Richmond councillor Stuart Parsons said giving the networks some funding was essential as they would otherwise end up as talking shops. He said:

“You have got to have something to encourage people to actively participate and not just wander away.”

Catterick councillor Kevin Foster added:

“There is a chance already for communities to get involved. All they need to do is turn up to their parish councils.”

Harrogate district town councils to be invited to take on more powers

Town and parish councils in the Harrogate district are to be invited to propose taking on more powers when local government undergoes its biggest shake-up for almost 50 years.

North Yorkshire Council will take charge of all local government in the county on April 1. The seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, and North Yorkshire County Council, will be abolished.

Under a pilot scheme, lower-tier authorities will be offered the chance to manage more local services as part of a “double devolution” approach designed to prevent too much power being centralised at Northallerton.

It could see Ripon City Council, Knaresborough Town Council, Pateley Bridge Town Council and others in North Yorkshire take on more powers over assets and services.

Harrogate currently does not have a town council.

As part of the plan, county council officials will write to parish authorities by the end of this month inviting them to submit expressions of interest.

From there, six councils will be picked to develop a business case.

In a report due before the county council’s executive on November 8, Neil Irving, assistant director of partnerships, said:

“Double devolution is entirely separate from the proposed devolution deal between the government and the local authorities in York and North Yorkshire.

“Double devolution has operated for over 10 years in some other parts of the country, including Cornwall and Wiltshire. 

“There is also significant experience of existing councils in North Yorkshire successfully transferring services and assets to community groups and to town and parish councils.”

Councils will be able to propose taking on a wide range of assets and services, rather than picking from a list.

However, the county council intends to make it clear that proposals to take on decision making powers, such as planning or traffic regulation, will not be considered.

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It would also not consider “expressions of interest with regard to services and assets that generate a significant net income for the new council”.

Once invited, local councils will have until March 2023 to express an interest in taking on more services.

‘More things done at a local level’

The move comes as county council officials proposed offering parish authorities more powers in August 2020.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, pledged to offer more powers for people to “get more things done at a local level”.

He said at the time:

“We believe this double devolution which passports powers from Whitehall to the town hall and the town hall to the village hall is an exciting prospect.

“We are seeking more powers from the government, but we want more powers to be devolved to the very local area as well. We want to bring people together to get more things done at a local level.”

£5,000 grants available to schools and parish councils

Bettys and Taylors Family Fund is inviting parish councils and schools to apply for grants of up to £5,000.

The fund supports Yorkshire-based groups working to improve the lives of local children and young people through food.

Cookery courses, healthy eating initiatives and food hygiene are examples of the kind of schemes eligible for funding.

Grants range from £500 to £5,000 and must benefit people living in Yorkshire.

Parish councils and schools are eligible to apply providing the grant is used for purposes outside their usual remit.

As Bettys and Taylors is a food and hospitality business, the fund aims to support local food-based projects.

The fund opened for applications this week and closes on April 28. Groups will find out by mid-June if they have been successful.

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County council leader ‘wants to be a friend of parish councils’

The leader of North Yorkshire County Council said he “wants to be a friend of parish councils” after being accused of plunging many into financial uncertainty.

A full meeting of the council heard Cllr Carl Les confirm that some parish councils holding elections next year to bring their polls into line with one for the new unitary authority would face charges for the election despite having little time to raise funding.

The meeting was told how some district councils charged parishes to run elections for them. Councillors heard Richmondshire District Council charged Richmond Town Council £6,000 for the election cycle.

Several opposition members called for clarification, saying many parishes had been left in a state of confusion after Cllr Les had said on October 5 that parish councils would not be charged for the forthcoming elections, before the council’s chief executive had stated parish councils would be charged.

Independent group leader Cllr Stuart Parsons said councils such as Richmond, where numerous seats were likely to be contested, would not have enough time to set aside the costs as they norally would because the election had been called by the county council with no consultation with parishes.

Richmondshire Cllr Helen Grant told Cllr Les: 

“The parishes are being disadvantaged. Little parishes have little or no money anyway and as we all know they tend to get their costs in over a four-year period.”

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She said St Martins Parish Council would have to double its tax demand from residents to cover the election and as parishes had the election “foisted” on them by the county council, the upper tier authority should be paying for the elections.

Selby district councillor John McCartney said during Cllr Les’ campaign to get North Yorkshire County Council to be the new authority parish councils were “your new best friends”.

He added: 

“You were going to be their champion, you were going to help them, they could take on responsibilities. But what you’ve done to them is give them uncertainty.”

Cllr Les replied that as a former parish councillor of many years he knew the value of parish councils. 

He said: 

“I do want to be a friend to parish councils. I want to help parish councils, which is why I believe the new authority should not charge, in the same way I don’t think district councils should charge presently.”

He said holding two separate elections for the unitary and parish authorities over two years would have been unreasonably expensive for taxpayers and as parish councils’ budgets were often small compared to district councils, parishes should not be charged for elections by the new authority.

Cllr Les added: 

“The next election is still under the remit of the district councils and it is quite right that it is their decision. Some charge and some don’t.”