Harrogate and Scarborough could get new town councils

Scarborough could get a town council as early as spring 2024

The creation of two new town councils in North Yorkshire will be considered at a meeting next week.

A public consultation supported plans to introduce town councils in Harrogate and Scarborough as early as 2024.

The areas, which lost their district councils when North Yorkshire Council was created, currently do not have town or parish councils.

North Yorkshire Council said it would initially cover the cost of establishing the councils.

The authority's standards and governance committee will discuss the proposal at a meeting on 5 July ahead of a full council meeting later this year.

The town councils would be formed for administrative purposes from April 2024 and the first elections would take place on 2 May.

'More elected voices'

Harrogate Town Council and Scarborough Town Council councillors would be elected for a reduced three-year term.

Elections would then take place every four years from 2027.

A consultation carried out in spring received 1,698 responses from Harrogate households with 65.5% in favour of a town council.

In Scarborough, there were 731 responses, with 69.9% in favour of the plans.

Executive member for corporate services, Cllr David Chance, said: "If the decision is taken to introduce the town councils for both Harrogate and Scarborough, this will provide more democratically-elected voices for both areas to ensure that the views of local people are heard effectively to help us deliver key services."

The parish would exclude the following areas:

• The unparished part of Eastfield Division, which is recommended to form part of Eastfield Town Council.

• The unparished part of Charles William Apartments, which are recommended to form part of Newby and Scalby Town Council.

• The three unparished properties at Osgodby, which are recommended to form part of Osgodby Parish Council.