North Yorkshire Council members are set to consider plans to introduce town councils in Harrogate and Scarborough after householders show support for the proposal.
North Yorkshire Council was launched on April 1, and a central pledge was that town and parish councils would be allowed to take on greater responsibilities.
Harrogate and Scarborough are the only parts of North Yorkshire which do not have a parish or town council.
A consultation of Harrogate and Scarborough residents found that a majority of respondents supported plans to create local councils for these towns.
A total of 1,698 responses to the consultation from Harrogate were received with 65.5% in favour of the creation of a town council. In Scarborough, there were 731 responses, with 69.9% in favour.
Members of North Yorkshire Council’s standards and governance committee will meet on Wednesday next week (5 July) to discuss the plans for the two new town councils. They are being recommended to refer the proposals for further debate at a full council meeting later this year.
The town councils would be formed for administrative purposes from April 2024, and the first elections would be on May 2, 2024, when councillors would be elected for a reduced term of three years. Elections would then take place every four years from 2027.
If this story was of interest, check out this feature by the leader of North Yorkshire Council, Cllr Carl Les: 'Piloting North Yorkshire’s community partnerships'.
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