‘There is nothing I regret’: Scarborough Council leader reflects on final cabinet meeting

Scarborough Council’s cabinet held its final ever meeting ahead of April’s local government shake-up which will see the creation of a new unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council.

At the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, March 14, members approved the major Vision for Filey scheme which sets out a 10-year plan for investment in the town as well as approving a community housing project in Goathland and the authority’s annual report.

From April, North Yorkshire Council will replace borough and district councils as part of a plan for local government reorganisation and a bid for devolution for the county.

Members of the cabinet reflected on the end of the authority and thanked colleagues and staff.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting, the leader of the council, Cllr Steve Siddons, said he hoped that “people on the Yorkshire coast are not forgotten about or minimised” as part of the new authority

Cllr Siddons said the biggest challenge facing the area would “probably be money”, citing reduced funding over the past decade, but added that devolution would “hopefully bring some additional money to the area”.

He said: “It [the money] won’t be enough, I think we can be pretty sure of that.

"But as I said in the cabinet meeting today, Scarborough Borough has punched above its weight for many years and when you look at what we do here, compared with some of the other district councils, we do a significant amount more.”

Asked whether he had regrets or wished the council had done something differently, the council leader said: “No, there is nothing I regret other than what we haven’t managed to achieve, and I think the biggest one of those is the housing joint-venture.”

Cllr Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff said she was “very privileged” to have represented her area and thanked residents for keeping her going, while Cllr Tony Randerson commended “the excellent work that Project Sunshine has done over the past years” and said “it has been a pleasure being in the cabinet”.

The final full meeting of Scarborough Council will be held on Monday, March 20.