Craven council leader ‘disappointed’ over reorganisation decision
Conservative councillor Richard Foster also raised concerns over what the reforms will mean for staff and how councils can still respond to the pandemic
The leader of Craven District Council has added his voice to a chorus of disappointment over the government’s decision to scrap North Yorkshire’s councils and replace them with a single unitary authority.
Conservative councillor Richard Foster also raised concerns over what the reforms will mean for staff and how councils can still respond to the pandemic as they prepare for what will be the biggest changes to local government in the county in almost 50 years.
The government decision comes after councils were invited to submit bids for reorganisation before a consultation was held earlier this year.
North Yorkshire County Council is behind the now-approved single authority plan, while the district councils except Hambleton, which rejected all options on the table, submitted a bid for two authorities split on a east/west basis.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, councillor Foster said: “The single council model was always the front runner but my biggest annoyance is that this has been a desktop exercise by the government who have not been to North Yorkshire to see the area on the ground.
“To decide the local government future for over 500,000 people in that way is disappointing to say the least.
“We have also always said this is the wrong time to be doing this. We have now got to deal with reorganisation whilst also somehow finding time to deal with our response to the pandemic.
“This will take up a huge amount of officer time when we should be moving forward and getting Craven’s recovery going.”
He added: “I hope we can have constructive discussion within North Yorkshire to ensure areas like Craven don’t just disappear. The loss of place could be massive.
“We need to protect jobs and look after our staff who have worked exceptionally hard during the pandemic.”
Also reacting to the announcement, councillor Andrew Solloway, leader of the Independent Group on Craven District Council, said the “fundamental flaw” with the east/west bid was that it would have engulfed City of York Council without its backing.
Under the reforms, City of York Council, already a unitary authority, will remain as it is.
Councillor Solloway added: “We have now got to forget there have been two opposing bids – it is time to work together.
“We councillors come and go, we are the governance of an authority, the real strength of councils are the staff who will now be feeling very unsettled.
“The people who empty our bins and support people in care homes – they are our backbone and they really do need our support.”
Councillor Andrew Brown, leader of the Green Party group on Craven District Council, has also expressed his disappointment over the decision which he said “resembles a hostile takeover that has been organised with the prime intent of helping a small group of politicians from one party to increase their power.”
The aim of reorganisation is to unlock the door to devolution and also save money by bringing all services under the control of a streamlined structure.
Currently, services including social care and education are run by North Yorkshire County Council, while the districts look after areas including planning and bin collections.
It is expected that the new council will deliver all services in the county from April 2023.