Fifteen months ago, North Yorkshire Council went to the people of Harrogate to ask whether they wanted a town council.
The idea was to set up a parish authority following the loss of Harrogate Borough Council.
Since then, a new unitary council has been set up, a second consultation has been held and the UK has changed Prime Minister twice.
The length of time lapsed has also caused political friction.
The Stray Ferret has followed the saga since its inception. In this article, we take a look at why it is taking so long.
Town council
As part of a community governance review, North Yorkshire Council launched a consultation on setting up town councils in Harrogate and Scarborough in August 2022.
The purpose was to form a layer of governance in two unparished areas following the creation of the unitary authority in April the following year.
Over the course of two consultations, which looked at which areas would fall under the town council and how many councillors it would have, the public backed it.
However, the authority has yet to be set up.
In fact, a further consultation has been proposed – which has been criticised by some Harrogate councillors.
At a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting on Monday, Richard Flinton, chief executive of North Yorkshire Council, explained to businesses that the earliest that a town council could be set up is April 2025.
This was because the council was planning to hold a third consultation on the matter, which was approved by councillors in July 2023.
‘Red herring’
At the time, Conservative councillors raised concern over the ward system which was proposed for the town council. In particular, the proposal for two councillors to represent one ward.
Officers had recommended that each of the proposed 10 wards in Harrogate, which were based on current North Yorkshire Council divisions, be represented by two councillors per ward on the town council with the exception of Saltergate, which would have one councillor.
Conservative councillor for Oatlands and Pannal, John Mann, said accountability to residents would be better served by single councillor wards.
He told a council meeting at the time:
“These arrangements will be with us for many decades to come and we need to get it right.”
Read more:
- In numbers: Harrogate town council consultation response
- MP told Harrogate Town Council delay ‘totally unacceptable’
While the matter was agreed to hold another consultation, the issue has continued to bubble under the political surface.
This week, Liberal Democrat councillors who control the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee told Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP, Andrew Jones, that the delay was unnecessary.
Cllr Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor who spoke at the committee, told the Stray Ferret that the concern over ward arrangements was a “red herring” and that the process was a waste of time.
He said:
“It’s a total waste of time and residents’ money – especially at a time when North Yorkshire Council is looking for £30 million of savings for the next three years, to balance its budgets.”
Andrew Jones MP pictured at Monday’s meeting.
However, the Conservatives say that Northallerton has to decide what the town council will do before it is set up and, ultimately, charges people council tax.
It has previously been suggested by the council that residents would pay between £40 and £60 on top of their council tax each year to cover as yet undetermined services for the town council.
Mr Jones told the area committee on Monday that council officials needed to do more work on the planned authority.
He said:
“It is slightly odd to say that we’re going to create a public body which has got the capacity to take between £40 to £60 in terms of council tax, but we do not know what it is for.
“I think there is a bit of work to be done to say what it is for before you ask taxpayers to get their wallets out for you. I think that is entirely reasonable.”
The cost to conduct further consultation is expected to take the total sum for the process over £100,000.
The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council when it expects to undertake its third consultation and how much it will cost.
But, we did not receive a response by the time of publication.
