New consultation over council boundary changes

Final proposals on the new council divisions are due to be published in January

Plans to redraw council wards in parts of North Yorkshire are to go out to a fresh public consultation.

The Local Government Boundary Commission is to ask people for their views on the boundaries of 25 divisions in the central and western parts of the county. It said it was not seeking submissions about other wards, with boundaries for 62 others already established.

A full set of final recommendations for the authority is scheduled to be published on 14 January.

Andrew Scallan CBE, deputy chair of the commission, said: "We want to make sure these new electoral arrangements reflect communities. We also want them to be easy to understand and convenient for local people."

The commission has proposed the 25 divisions in central and western North Yorkshire would each have a single councillor.

However, it has made some changes to its original plans for wards in the Nidderdale, Washburn and Wharfedale areas, as well as revisions to wards in the central part of North Yorkshire.

Officials said the changes had been made to reflect the evidence received, their own observations and the topography of the area, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The proposals are based on submissions from North Yorkshire Council, political groups and others, including parish councils and local residents.

The commission says it wants to hear people's views on the proposed changes

When a draft report was published in April, it emerged that a number of suggestions made by local Liberal Democrats had been included over suggestions made by the council.

This prompted the authority to submit a fresh list of recommendations.

The commission said it wanted to hear what residents and local organisations thought about the new proposals.

Mr Scallan said: "Residents and local organisations have already helped us in refining our earlier proposals.

"Now we would like them to let us know whether they agree with our proposals before we take final decisions."

A final six-week consultation on the proposals would run until 13 October, according to the commission.

The proposals, which include reducing the number of North Yorkshire councillors, from 90 to 89, could be put in place by the next local elections in 2027.

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