New mayor appointed for Pateley Bridge

Chris Thompson has been appointed mayor of Pateley Bridge for the next civic year.

Cllr Thompson was elected chair of Pateley Bridge Town Council at May’s annual meeting in May. His wife, Dawn Thompson, is his mayoress.

London-born Cllr Thompson is a former telephone engineer who moved to Glasshouses with his family in 2001.

He suffered a near-fatal heart attack in 2012 and received so much support from the local community he pledged to give back when he’d recovered. He added:

“So in 2014, I became chair of Glasshouses Village Association, organising community events and outings, with a lot of help and support from my wife.

“Then in 2018, I was also co-opted onto Pateley Bridge Town Council. At the same time, my wife and I started working with the Pateley Bridge based community singing group All Together Now to help people with dementia and other memory loss problems.

“I am the organist for Pateley Bridge Methodist Church. We’re also members of the Nidderdale Community Choir, which is a lot of fun as well as singing some great music.”

Cllr Thompson pledged to attend as many community events as possible, support local North Yorkshire councillor Andrew Murday in his bid to establish a youth council in Pateley Bridge and to promote the town as much as possible.

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Badger carving unveiled in Pateley Bridge to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II

A wooden badger carved from a fallen tree has been unveiled in Pateley Bridge to commemorate the late Queen.

Bewerley Parish Council commissioned Sherwood Carvings to transform the tree, which was brought down by storms last year, into the adopted emblem of the town to mark the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Residents of the town and surrounding areas took part in an informal poll to decide what the carving should be. The badger came out victorious over an orb and sceptre, or a crown.

The transformation took a day and a half and was funded by a legacy grant from Harrogate Borough Council as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations last year.

The carving is located in the Pateley Bridge play area and is around 7ft tall.

The parish council said in a statement:

“We’re delighted to reveal this amazing carving of a badger on the play area at Pateley Bridge Recreation Ground.

“Jonathan of Sherwood Carving has transformed the tree brought down in storms last year into a beautiful tribute to HM The Queen”.

The carving was predominantly done by chainsaw and power tools but is stain-based and treated with Danish oil.

Jonathan Sherwood, of Sherwood Carving, said:

“It was very enjoyable to carve something in commemoration of the late Queen.

“The work was challenging due to the nature of the wood, but I’m glad it will be enjoyed for years to come”.

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Council to press ahead with Pateley Bridge Cemetery expansion

Harrogate Borough Council is to press ahead with plans to purchase land near Pateley Bridge cemetery to expand burial space at the site.

Graham Swift, cabinet member for resources at the authority, approved spending £32,500 to purchase 2.5 acres of land in the town.

The borough council said it would now begin the process to purchase the land, which is owned by Pateley Bridge Town Council.

It is hoped the expansion will create enough burial space for the next 300 years.

James Bean, estates surveyor at the council, said in a report that the cemetery is expected to reach capacity for burials in the next two years.

He said:

“The cemetery at Pateley Bridge is soon to reach capacity and a solution for its longer term use needs to be established.

“Colleagues in the bereavement services team have identified an area of land next to the cemetery for possible expansion which would provide burial space for over 300 years.”

Work at the site will require planning consent following the purchase in order for the cemetery to expand.

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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.”