Scarborough could get new town council ‘shortly’ amid plan for county-wide parish charter

Next week, North Yorkshire Council’s executive committee will be asked to approve a parish council charter for the county as part of a plan that aims to “set out the arrangements for partnership working between the new North Yorkshire Council and local city, town, and parish councils”.

Currently, parts of Scarborough and Harrogate towns do not have parish or town councils and charter trustees have been established for these areas.

However, NYC has said that community governance reviews are underway and “may lead to the formation of town councils for these areas shortly”.

One proposal is to create town councils in Scarborough and Harrogate from April 2024.

There are 731 parishes in North Yorkshire, the majority of which have a parish council, although some parish meetings are held without a parish council.

During the engagement period regarding the new charter, a survey was sent to all town and parish councils across North Yorkshire to facilitate their feedback on the proposal.

According to NYC, 108 responses were received to the online survey.

North Yorkshire Council said: “Following an overwhelmingly positive response, members of North Yorkshire Council’s executive will be asked on Tuesday, July 18, to officially adopt the parish charter and herald a new era of partnership, working and understanding in the county.”

There are 36 parish councils in Scarborough and Whitby, of which 12 – or 33 per cent – responded.

Scarborough and Whitby had the highest proportion of responses from parishes compared to other area constituency committee areas.

The lowest rate of responses was recorded in Skipton and Ripon, where only 15 of a total of 116 parish councils in the area constituency committee’s remit responded – just 13 per cent.

In North Yorkshire, 507 parishes or groups of parishes raised a precept in 2022/23, and according to North Yorkshire Council, that year the total council tax raised by the county’s parishes was £9.3m.

However, the creation of a Scarborough Town Council for the town’s currently unrepresented areas has been questioned by councillors who have raised doubts about the “democratic mandate” for the creation of such a body and its funding through precepts.

North Yorkshire Council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “Parish and town councils and parish meetings are an important part of local government. They are the first tier of local government and play a vital role for their communities.

“The charter is the result of experience and local consultation in order to establish better ways of working and to ensure we are all using best practice in everything we do.”

The council’s Conservative leader added: “I am delighted to support this charter, and if it is approved by the executive, I look forward to working closely with our colleagues in the parishes and the towns in the years to come.

“This is set to be the dawn of a new era for democracy in North Yorkshire.”

On Wednesday, July 19, a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council is set to vote on the final recommendations on the community governance reviews relating to the unparished town centres in Scarborough and Harrogate.