Harrogate district’s town and parish councils may get more powers in new pilot scheme

After making a successful proposal to the Government to offer town and parish councils and community groups the chance to take over some services and assets on behalf of the new unitary authority, should they wish to, North Yorkshire County Council now looks set to take the idea one major step forward.

Next Tuesday, November 8, will see a meeting where the county council’s executive will be recommended to invite town and parish councils to submit expressions of interest to take part in a small-scale pilot.

The Harrogate district currently boasts several parish councils including:

Ripon City Council

Knaresborough Town Council

Pateley Bridge Town Council

Boroughbridge Town Council.

Towns and parishes would be able to choose which services or assets they would like to manage, rather than being invited to choose from a limited list.

All of the above will be entitled to apply to take part in the pilot.

However, proposals would have to benefit communities, not incur extra costs and be based on a strong business case.The county council’s executive member for localities, Coun Greg White, said: “Town and parish councils are integral to our county’s vibrant communities, alongside community groups.

“That’s why we are looking at this small-scale pilot scheme, working initially with a handful of town and parish councils, enabling us to progress cautiously, learning from the experience and developing best practice."

At the moment, there is no Harrogate Town Council.

But senior figures at North Yorkshire County Council are on the record as looking on favourably on the principle of creating a Harrogate Town Council once the borough council is abolished next April as part of the devolution shake-up.

The county council held a public consultation from Monday, August 22 to Friday, September 30 on the question of introducing parish and town councils for the two major areas in North Yorkshire which currently lack said bodies - Scarborough and Harrogate.

The soon-to-be-abolished Harrogate Borough Council is worried about the expense and effectiveness of a town council for Harrogate and has called for a public referendum on the issue.

Whatever happens next, it will have to happen as part of a formal Community Governance Review procedure, dependent on the new North Yorkshire Council itself which would take at least two years to follow through properly.

Successful instances of towns and villages already taking on the management of local assets include the transfer of 31 libraries to community groups in Harrogate and across the county in 2015.

The commitment to this approach was cemented earlier in October when the county council’s executive agreed to grant leases for a further 10 years to support the development of community-run libraries.

Under the community model, the library service continues to provide the infrastructure, including books and public computers, as well as paid staff support to ensure consistency across the county.

Subject to the executive’s decision, parish and town councils would have until March 31, 2023 to submit their plans.

Up to six submissions could be developed further in conjunction with the new North Yorkshire Council which takes over in April 2023.