Referendum should not ‘slow down’ Harrogate town council creation

A referendum should not slow the process of creating a Harrogate town council, local Liberal Democrats have said.

Harrogate and Scarborough are the only parts of North Yorkshire which do not have a parish or town council. However, a lower-tier authority looks set to be created after 75% backed a proposal in an initial consultation.

North Yorkshire County Council looks set to hold a second consultation on the plans instead of a local referendum.

Both Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors in Harrogate called for a binding referendum over the matter in September last year.

However, local Lib Dems have now said that, while the party backed a referendum, they feel it should not slow down the town council process.

Cllr Chris Aldred, who represents Fairfax on Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“Harrogate and Knaresborough Lib Dems are in support of a town council and have been out talking to residents about the need to protect our local voice.

“We encouraged people to take part in a consultation last year and make their opinions known.

“Our council group voted in favour of a referendum but would not want to see a referendum process slow the establishment of a town council if the outcome of the public consultation showed strong support.”

‘Democratic legitimacy’

Cllr Richard Cooper, Conservative leader of the borough council, tabled a motion at a meeting in September last year calling for a referendum on the matter.

The resolution also said information should be made available prior to the referendum as to which services a new town council could provide, together with an indicative level of investment required to give “democratic legitimacy” to the process.

The creation of a town council will see Harrogate residents pay an additional precept on their council tax to fund its functions.

Read more:

At the time, Cllr Cooper said a ballot had to be held before residents were asked to pay an extra tax to fund it.

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?”

The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Cooper for comment on the news that a consultation couldl be held instead of a referendum, but did not receive a response.

Referendum ‘not justified’

A report due before North Yorkshire County Council’s executive on January 10 says a referendum “may not be justified” if a consultation is likely to give the same result.

Cllr Carl Les, Conservative leader of the county council, said in response to the borough council’s motion:

“It should be noted that it is not legally possible to hold a binding referendum to create a town council as the legislation does not provide for this and the council cannot fetter its discretion in this way.

“However we note the council’s request about how to carry out any future consultation.”

The report goes on to add that such a referendum may not “illicit a different response” to a consultation and that the additional cost may not be justified.

“It is not clear that a referendum would elicit a different response. There is no requirement under the law for a referendum to form part of a community governance review to provide democratic legitimacy to the outcome.

“The additional cost of a referendum may not be justified if the outcome is likely to be the same as writing to all households.”

Instead, the county council has recommended a second public consultation to be held for eight-weeks from February 20.

Just 3.5% responded to Harrogate town council consultation

Just 3.5% of homes sent information packs as part of a consultation on creating a Harrogate town council bothered to respond.

Letters were posted to each of the 35,431 households on the electoral register in the unparished area of Harrogate inviting them to have their say on the subjects. Only 1,250 did so.

A total of 75% favoured setting up a town council but the low response rate triggered concerns about the validity of the response.

Establishing a town council, wit yet to be determined powers, would create an additional annual council tax charge for the 35,431 homes affected.

A report to North Yorkshire County Council‘s Conservative-controlled executive on January 11 recommends it proceeds with moves to create a 19-person town council in April 2024. But it says:

“There was some concern raised about the apparent low response rate and whether this gave a sufficient democratic mandate to create new town councils.

“It is further noted that whilst the rates are low, it is not unusual with the background of similar reviews and the Association of Electoral Administrators consultant has advised that it is sufficient to proceed with the response rate at this level based on previous reviews.

“The decision being requested is whether to proceed with a further set of consultations on a preferred proposal and the response rate and details of that consultation can be considered before a final decision is made.”

No referendum

The county council is also likely to ignore a plea by Harrogate Borough Council to hold a referendum.

On September 21, the borough council unanimously passed a resolution:

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

The resolution also said information should be made available prior to the referendum as to which services a new town council could provide, together with an indicative level of investment required to give “democratic legitimacy” to the process.

But the report to the county council quotes leader Carl Les saying:

“it should be noted that it is not legally possible to hold a binding referendum to create a town council as the legislation does not provide for this and the council cannot fetter its discretion in this way.”

Read more:

Cllr Les adds the consultation, which will now proceed to a second stage, should merely “take into account” the views of the borough council. The report added:

“It is not clear that a referendum would elicit a different response. There is no requirement under the law for a referendum to form part of a community governance review to provide democratic legitimacy to the outcome.

“The additional cost of a referendum may not be justified if the outcome is likely to be the same as writing to all households.”

County leaders coy on referendum calls for Harrogate town council

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:

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.

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:

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

Harrogate district village wins eight-year battle for more planning control

A small parish council in the Harrogate district has won an eight-year campaign to have greater control over local planning decisions.

Roecliffe and Westwick Parish Council started creating a neighbourhood plan in 2014 amid concerns about green space being lost to developers.

Last week, villagers overwhelmingly approved the adoption of the plan in a referendum by 78 votes to seven.

Neighbourhood plans, which were introduced by the government in the Localism Act 2011, set out planning policies for a local area.

They must have regard to national planning policy and conform with local development plans — in this case the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which sets out where development can take place.

Roecliffe

Once adopted by a local referendum, the local authority is obliged to consider it as part of the planning process, which according to the government makes the plans “important and powerful tools that gives communities statutory powers to shape how their communities develop”.

Jim Bolland

Jim Bolland

Jim Bolland, chair of Roecliffe and Westwick Parish Council, has led the campaign to create a plan, which he believes is the first by a small village in the Harrogate district. He told the Stray Ferret:

“We are delighted. We did this because we didn’t want too many new houses in Roecliffe and Westwick.

“There are a lot of major businesses on the road from Boroughbridge to Roecliffe and we want to preserve a green channel. Housing has got a little bit out of control in the Boroughbridge area, in my opinion.”

Read more:

Mr Bolland urged other parish councils to consider creating neighbourhood plans.

He said Roecliffe and Westwick Parish Council initially expected the process to take two years rather than eight, and advised any groups going down the route to be proactive and start early rather than wait for a major planning application because the process wouldn’t be quick enough to influence individual applications.

Roecliffe neighbourhood plan

Nevertheless Mr Bolland, who is stepping down as chairman next week, said the plans were worth the effort:

“If parish councils feel they have a lot of land that could be built upon then it is well worth doing.”

The referendum result was announced at last week’s North Yorkshire Council local election count in Harrogate.