CGR Final Recommendations

North Yorkshire Council

Standards and Governance Committee

15 July 2024

Final Recommendations on the Community Governance Reviews for Harrogate and Scarborough

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services

1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.1 Following further consultation on the Community Governance Reviews for the unparished parts of Harrogate and Scarborough, to present final recommendations for new town councils to be created for Harrogate and Scarborough, along with proposed minor amendments to parish boundaries in Scarborough affecting three parish councils.

2.0 SUMMARY

2.1 This report details the outcomes of the recent Stage 3 consultation on warding patterns for the proposed Harrogate and Scarborough Town Councils following the resolution of Council on 19 July 2023.

2.2 The report presents final recommendations in relation to the creation of town councils for Harrogate and Scarborough for consideration by the Standard and Governance Committee and requests the Committee to make recommendations for consideration by Council on 24 July 2024.

2.3 The report also presents final recommendations in relation to the Community Governance Reviews of Eastfield, Newby and Scalby and Osgodby parish councils in which recommendations are made in respect of minor amendments to parish boundaries to align with division boundaries.

3.0 BACKGROUND

3.1 A community governance review (CGR) is a review of whole or part of a principal council’s area for the purpose of making recommendations in relation to creating, merging or abolishing parishes and the naming and electoral arrangements of parishes. A CGR provides a principal council with the opportunity to consider what the most effective parish governance arrangements might be for a certain area as set out in The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (LGPIHA 2007). The final recommendations documents attached as appendices to this report provide further information on the scope of such reviews and set out the background for each of the reviews referred to at 3.2 below.

3.2 On 19 July 2022 the Executive approved Terms of Reference for CGRs of the unparished parts of Harrogate and Scarborough, and three anomalous areas adjacent to the Scarborough unparished area. A timeline of the CGR is given below:

19 July 2022	Executive approved the Terms of Reference
August to October 2022	Stage 1 consultation to establish whether there was local interest in creating town councils
10 January 2023	Executive considered the stage 1 consultation responses and agreed draft recommendations for consultation at Stage 2
March to May 2023	Stage 2 consultation on the draft recommendations that town councils be created for Harrogate and Scarborough and the electoral arrangements for those parish councils

3.3 On 5 July 2023 the Standards and Governance Committee considered a report setting out the final recommendations following the stage 2 consultation, which were that town councils be created. The report is attached at Appendix C. The recommendations included proposals in relation to the electoral arrangements for the town councils including the numbers of councillors to be elected, and the warding patterns and names of the wards. For both Harrogate and Scarborough it was proposed that the same warding pattern be used as for North Yorkshire Council:

· Harrogate – it was proposed that there be two parish councillors for each ward, with the exception of Saltergate ward which would only have one, giving a council size of 19 councillors

· Scarborough – it was proposed that there be three parish councillors per ward, giving a council size of 15 parish councillors.

3.4 At the meeting the Committee recommended to Council that town councils be created, but that a warding pattern of single councillors be used for each town council. For Harrogate this should be the ward pattern used by the former Harrogate Borough Council, which consisted of 19 wards. For Scarborough the committee requested that a new warding pattern be developed of 15 single member wards.

3.5 On 19 July 2023 the recommendations of the Standards and Governance Committee were considered by Council and it was resolved that Council:

i) note the consultation results and equality impact assessment

ii) defer making resolutions to conclude the Community Governance Review in order for the following additional work to be undertaken:

(a) for the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services to draft up proposed warding arrangements for Scarborough Town Council to be 15 single member wards

(b) to propose the preferred warding arrangements for Harrogate Town Council to be 19 single member wards on the former Borough warding arrangements

(c) for the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services to carry out the necessary consultation on the revised warding arrangements and for the results of that consultation to be considered at a future Standards and Governance Committee and Council meeting.

4.0 STAGE 3 CONSULTATION

4.1 The stage 3 consultation on warding patterns took place from 6 – 31 May 2024. Appendix A provides information on the methodologies used to. Respondents were asked to select their preferred warding pattern from two options: the multi-member warding pattern previously consulted on, and a single member warding pattern. Respondents were not asked for views on whether town councils should be created.

4.2 The results of the Harrogate consultation are as detailed below:

Harrogate

	Number	Percentage
Option 1 – 2 councillor wards	67	22%
Option 2 – 1 councillor wards	212	71%
Don’t know / not sure	18	6%
Blank	3	1%
Total	300	100%

Of those residents and other stakeholders who took the time to respond there is a majority in favour of creating 19 single councillor wards for Harrogate.

4.3 The results of the Scarborough consultation are as detailed below:

Scarborough

	Number	Percentage
Option 1 – 3 councillor wards	161	54%
Option 2 – 1 councillor wards	123	42%
Don’t know / not sure	11	4%
Blank	0
Total	295	100%

Of those residents and other stakeholders who took the time to respond there is a majority in favour of creating 5 wards with three councillors each for Scarborough.

5.0 FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEWS

5.1 Following the stage 3 consultation it is therefore recommended that

1) Harrogate– the final recommendations be amended to reflect:

· a change to the proposed warding pattern and ward names to be that of the former Harrogate Borough Council and consist of 19 single member wards

· that the new parish come into effect on 1 April 2025, with the first election to be 1 May 2025 for a reduced term of 2 years

· the change take place on 15 October 2024 for electoral purposes (ahead of publication of the revised register planned for 1 December 2024)

· all other recommendations remain the same.

2) Scarborough– the final recommendations in relation to warding pattern remain unchanged from the recommendations presented to the Committee in July 2023, the final recommendations be amended to reflect:

· that the new parish come into effect on 1 April 2025, with the first election to be 1 May 2025 for a reduced term of 2 years

· the change take place on 15 October 2024 for electoral purposes (ahead of publication of the revised register planned for 1 December 2024)

· all other recommendations remain the same.

Detailed recommendations are set out at section 15.0 of the report.

5.2 Section 15.0 also contains recommendations in respect of Eastfield, Newby and Scalby and Osgodby Parish Councils.

5.3 Attached at Appendix C to this report is the report considered by Standards and Governance Committee on 5 July 2023 which sets out the responses to the stage 2 consultation and considerations arising from that consultation. Detailed Final Recommendations reports in respect of the five areas under review are also attached. No changes have been made to documents in Appendix C since they were first published.

6.0 CONSIDERATION OF STATUTORY CRITERIA

6.1 The legislation requires that the council must have regard to the need to ensure that community governance within the area under review:

· reflects the identities and interests of the community in that area

· provides effective and convenient governance of the area

6.2 Councils are also advised to consider factors such as:

· what impact proposed community governance arrangements might have on community cohesion

· whether the size (area), population and boundaries proposed for local governance make sense on the ground and contribute to the above criteria;

· whether there are any existing arrangements for community representation in the area which might be undertaking the functions of a parish council

6.3 These statutory criteria are discussed within each consultation report in Appendix C.

7.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES

7.1 Establishing town councils can be seen as supporting the council’s priorities in relation to localities. North Yorkshire Council will aim to work closely with town and parish councils, wider partners and communities to ensure that local priorities drive locally led decision-making and local action. Services and assets can be devolved to town and parish councils and community groups, where they want to take these on and where it would be better value for money for all involved.

8.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

8.1 Amend the final recommendations: Any amendments to the final recommendations may require a further consultation on the amended recommendations. An additional period of consultation would lead to a further delay in the implementation date for any town council / change to boundaries.

8.2 Not to approve the final recommendations to create town councils: If town councils were not created for Harrogate and / or Scarborough the Charter Trustees would continue until such time as town councils were created. The role of Charter Trustee bodies is limited to ceremonial activities and such bodies would not be able to fulfil the ambitions of the Council to keep service delivery local and empowering local communities.

8.3 Not to approve the final recommendations to align parish boundaries with division boundaries: Anomalous areas where boundary lines differ are not easily understood by electors and can cause confusion.

9.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

9.1 The three consultations have cost a total of £92k, which includes the printing and postage costs of two mailings to each household with an information pack, and also £800 for digital marketing.

9.2 A sum of £30k was allocated to the costs of engaging an AEA consultant with specified numbers of days allocated to each stage. Currently spending is below what has been budgeted for and funds are available if further support is required from the AEA.

9.3 Should parish councils be created a parish precept will be added to council tax bills for those living within the relevant areas. In order to create a new town council the council must make a reorganisation order and at that time must anticipate a precept for the new town council. The Charter Trustees for Harrogate and Scarborough were consulted on possible levels of precept before the stage 2 consultation and suggested precept figures were included in the consultation documentation. These figures will be used as the basis for consideration of the level of any precept which will be determined in consultation with the Corporate Director of Resources.

9.4 As parish councils are being established there will be set up costs and it is expected that some tasks will need to be carried out before the town councils formally come into being. The costs of these tasks would be initially borne by North Yorkshire Council, then recharged back.

10.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

10.1 The 2007 Act gave local authorities responsibility for carrying out Community Governance Reviews within the relevant guidance and taking into account consultation responses to ensure that the identities and interests of communities are reflected and that arrangements made are effective and convenient. If town councils are created a review would need to be undertaken about what roles and duties are transferred or undertaken by the new legal entities to determine the potential TUPE implications for any relevant staff affected.

11.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

11.1 The public consultation was undertaken in such a way as to ensure that a broad range of responses are obtained and no groups were excluded. Every household was sent a letter in the post at both stage 1 and stage 2 consultations. Consultation documents were offered in alternative languages and formats on request. An Equality Impact Assessment screening form is attached at Appendix B.

12.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

12.1 None. An initial climate change impact assessment form is attached at Appendix 7 of Appendix C.

13.0 CONCLUSIONS

13.1 The report sets out the outcome of the stage 3 consultation in relation to warding patterns for proposed town councils for Harrogate and Scarborough.

13.2 Final recommendations in relation to the community governance reviews of Harrogate, Scarborough, Eastfield, Newby & Scalby and Osgodby were presented to the Standards and Governance Committee in July 2023.

13.3 Following the stage 3 consultation no changes are recommended to the final recommendations for Scarborough, or the three neighbouring parishes.

13.4 For Harrogate the stage 3 consultation showed support for a single member warding pattern. It is therefore proposed that the final recommendations be amended in respect of the warding pattern and ward names, as set out in the recommendations below.

13.5 Members are requested to consider the consultation results and take account of the statutory criteria as set out at section 6 of this report when making recommendations to Council on 24 July 2024.

14.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

14.1 The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 gives power to local authorities to make decisions about the creation of parishes and the electoral arrangements for parishes created. On 19 July 2022 the council resolved to undertake a community governance review of the unparished parts of Harrogate and Scarborough, and some minor amendments to boundaries of existing parishes adjacent to Scarborough. The council must now make recommendations on whether or not to establish parish councils for Harrogate and Scarborough.

14.2 In making its recommendations the Council must consider representations received during the consultation and can also use its own local knowledge of the area. In accordance with the statutory criteria the recommendations should ensure that the arrangements for the areas are reflective of the identities and interests of the community in the areas and provide effective and convenient governance of the area

14.3 Following the making of a decision the 2007 Act requires councils to make available a document setting out the reasons for the decisions it has taken and to publicise these reasons.

15.0

RECOMMENDATIONS

That Standards and Governance Committee are requested to:

i) consider the consultation results and equality impact assessment

ii) make recommendations to Council in relation to each of the areas under review at A) to E) below:

A) HARROGATE

(1) to create a new parish for the unparished area of Harrogate

(2) the new parish be named Harrogate

(3) the new parish have a parish council and to name that parish council Harrogate Town Council

(4) the parish come into effect from 1 April 2025 for administrative purposes, and the first election for the town council be 2 May 2025 for a reduced term of two years, with ordinary elections taking place in 2027 and every four years thereafter

(5) the parish be divided into wards, named

Bilton Grange

Bilton Woodfield

Central

Coppice Valley

Duchy

Fairfax

Harlow

High Harrogate

Hookstone

Kingsley

New Park

Oatlands

Old Bilton

Pannal

Saltergate

St Georges

Starbeck

Stray

Valley Gardens

(6) there should be 19 councillors elected to the parish

(7) the number of parish councillors to be elected for each ward shall be

Bilton Grange 1

Bilton Woodfield 1

Central 1

Coppice Valley 1

Duchy 1

Fairfax 1

Harlow 1

High Harrogate 1

Hookstone 1

Kingsley 1

New Park 1

Oatlands 1

Old Bilton 1

Pannal 1

Saltergate 1

St Georges 1

Starbeck 1

Stray 1

Valley Gardens 1

(8) the change take effect on 15 October 2024 for electoral purposes (ahead of publication of the revised register planned for 1 December 2024)

(9) the boundaries of the new parish and wards should be as shown on the map at Annex A

B) SCARBOROUGH

(1) to create a new parish for the unparished area of Scarborough

(2) the new parish be named Scarborough

(3) the new parish have a parish council and to name that parish council Scarborough Town Council

(5) the parish be divided into wards, named

Castle

Falsgrave & Stepney

Northstead

Weaponness & Ramshill

Woodlands

(6) there should be 15 councillors elected to the parish

(7) the number of parish councillors to be elected for each ward shall be

Castle 3

Falsgrave & Stepney 3

Northstead 3

Weaponness & Ramshill 3

Woodlands 3

(8) the change take effect on 15 October 2024 for electoral purposes (ahead of publication of the revised register planned for 1 December 2024)

(9) the boundaries of the new parish and wards should be as shown on the map at Annex A

C) EASTFIELD

(1) the north-eastern boundary line of Eastfield Town Council be extended towards the A165 to match the Eastfield Division and Ward boundaries (and consequentially excluding the 3 known anomalous properties at Osgodby)

(2) the changes take effect on 1 April 2025 for administrative purposes.

(3) the change takes effect on 15 October 2024 for electoral purposes (ahead of publication of the revised register planned for 1 December 2024)

(4) the changes should be as shown on the map at Annex A

D) NEWBY AND SCALBY

(1) to extend Newby & Scalby Town Council boundary to include all of Charles Williams Apartments, to become coterminous with the Newby Division)

(2) the changes take effect on 1 April 2025 for administrative purposes.

(3) the change takes effect on 15 October 2024 for electoral purposes (ahead of publication of the revised register planned for 1 December 2024)

(4) the changes should be as shown on the map at Annex A

E) OSGODBY

(1) to extend Osgodby Parish Council boundary to include those 3 properties currently outside of the parish, at the norther boundary line, and to become coterminous with the Cayton Division

(2) the changes take effect on 1 April 2025 for administrative purposes.

(3) the change takes effect on 15 October 2024 for electoral purposes (ahead of publication of the revised register planned for 1 December 2024)

(4) the changes should be as shown on the map at Annex A

iii) if Council recommends creation of parish councils and changes to existing parishes authority be granted to the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services in consultation with the Corporate Director of Resources to implement the decisions including making reorganisation orders which amongst other things will set the precept for the first year of the town councils to take effect from 1 April 2025.

APPENDICES:

Appendix A – Consultation methodology

Appendix B – Equality Impact Assessment

Appendix C – Final Recommendations on the Community Governance Reviews relating to the unparished town centres in Harrogate and Scarborough – Report to Standards and Governance Committee – 5 July 2023

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:

Executive report of 19 July 2022 - Decision on whether to proceed with Community Governance Reviews relating to the unparished town centres in Harrogate and Scarborough

Executive report of 10 January 2023 – Draft Recommendations on the Community Governance Reviews relating to the unparished town centres in Harrogate and Scarborough

Barry Khan

Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services

County Hall

Northallerton

5 July 2024

Report Author – Elizabeth Jackson – Principal Democratic Services Officer

Presenters of Report – Elizabeth Jackson – Principal Democratic Services Officer

- Kerry Russett – Head of Electoral Services

Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.