Whitby Town Mayor's New Year message - 'new authority must embrace and serve Whitby'

This year I have talked to people all over the UK and all over the World who express their deep love for Whitby, even if sometimes it feels less well thought of closer to home.

For so many services and businesses, we are on the edge - easily overlooked or forgotten.

But those services and businesses are on the edge too – of a difficult economy and on the long march back to post-pandemic normality.

We see it with health services like community dentists, where our location seems to work against us as much as we see shops and banks closing, or about to close, around us.

Next year brings a new unitary authority for North Yorkshire.

I want to see it embrace and serve Whitby with as much significance as pictures of Whitby get in its publicity material – which is a lot.

We need that extended to health and emergency services and to public transport, with an equally engaged mayoral authority covering North Yorkshire and York that works for us too.

It's been a unique year: a Platinum send off to our nation’s pre-eminent Queen; a new King and three Prime Ministers.

It’s a noticeable contrast between the dignity of state – in which Whitby played its part and the chaos of modern-day government – from which a wholesome distance is not a disadvantage.

Let’s be confident we stay happy, healthy and well connected in 2023.