Scarborough’s mayor and charter trustees to meet for first time since April

The charter trustees, including charter mayor John Ritchie, are responsible for the town’s civic duties and ensuring the continuation of the ceremonial traditions of the area until Scarborough Town Council is created.

The charter trustees are councillors John Ritchie, Janet Jefferson, Eric Broadbent, Rich Maw, Liz Colling, and Tony Randerson.

However, if a town council is not created, the charter trustees, who are made up of councillors that represent the currently unparished areas of Scarborough, will stay in their roles.

This summer, members of North Yorkshire Council pushed through a motion that aimed to revise the wards and the number of councillors that would be elected in a future town council.

This is set to delay the creation of a Scarborough Town Council by at least a year until 2025.

North Yorkshire Council will also undertake a third public consultation regarding the town council’s creation which has been criticised by some charter trustees, some of whom see new consultations as unnecessary and have questioned the related financial costs.

At the meeting on Friday, members of the public will have an opportunity to speak if they contact North Yorkshire Council by Tuesday, October 17.

The charter mayor will report on recent activities and any associated issues, and a new North Yorkshire Council officer will be appointed as the responsible financial officer for the trustees.

A budget report will also be presented to the meeting, reporting on the use of allocated funds by the charter mayor and trustees.

Less than half of the year’s £20,980 budget has been spent so far, with the expenditure up until September amounting to £9,295.

The largest expenditure was on council officer support which amounted to £8,770, whilst £450 was spent on general expenditure which included “ACTT subscription and incoming mayoral photos”.

In terms of event expenditure, £75 was spent on “refreshments for the Armed Forces Day flag raising”.

The meeting will be held at Scarborough Town Hall at 2pm on Friday, October 20.