Two weeks left to have your say on North Yorkshire devolution plans

Earlier this year, Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that two proposals from councils in the area would be taken forward as part of the Local Government Reorganisation process, the consultation into which closes on April 19.

North Yorkshire County Council has submitted a bid for one large authority to cover the county, with more powers passed on to town and parish councils. City of York Council, itself already a unitary, would be left as it is under the proposals.

Six of the county’s seven district councils – Scarborough, Harrogate, Ryedale, Craven, Selby and Richmondshire – submitted a proposal dubbed the “East & West plan” that would see the county and York split in half to create two authorities of roughly the same population size under one Mayor.

Scarborough, Ryedale, Selby and York would be in one authority with Craven, Hambleton, Richmondshire and Harrogate in the other.

Both bids would see Scarborough and the other six district councils scrapped.

The consultation asks a number of questions about each proposal around value for money, proposed geography of the council and impact of the proposal on local services.

Residents, councils, Local Enterprise Partnerships, public service providers, businesses and voluntary organisations all have the opportunity to have their say on which proposal, if any, they see as the best fit for their area.

The Local Government Secretary will consider all proposals following the consultation before making a decision about which option, if any, to implement. This would be subject to Parliamentary approval.

Subject to Parliamentary approval, it is expected that any new unitary council would be fully operational from April 2023 with transitional arrangements expected to be in place from 2022, including elections in May 2022 to the shadow or continuing councils.

To take part in the consultation visit www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposals-for-locally-led-reorganisation-of-local-government-in-cumbria-north-yorkshire-and-somerset.