North_Yorkshire_County_Council
North Yorkshire Council
Unitary authority in England
North Yorkshire Council is the unitary authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire (legally known as the County of North Yorkshire),[3] within the larger ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, in England. North Yorkshire was a two-tier non-metropolitan county from 1974 to 2023, when North Yorkshire Council was a county council called North Yorkshire County Council. On 1 April 2023 the seven lower-tier districts of the county were abolished and their functions taken over by the new unitary authority.
North Yorkshire Council | |
|---|---|
Logo from 1 April 2023 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1974 |
| Preceded by | Craven Hambleton Harrogate Richmondshire Ryedale Scarborough Selby |
| Leadership | |
Richard Flinton since 2010[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 90 |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
| County Hall, Racecourse Lane, Northallerton, DL7 8AD | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The council's headquarters is County Hall in Northallerton, the county town.
The non-metropolitan county has a population of 615,491 and an area of 2,483 square miles (6,430 km2). The remainder of the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire is administered by the unitary authorities of Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees (part), and York.
The council was formed in 1974, when North Riding County Council was abolished, and has been based at County Hall in Northallerton since then.[4][5] The non-metropolitan county originally had eight districts: York, Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.[6] In 1996 the City of York was expanded with the addition of parishes from the districts of Harrogate, Ryedale, and Selby and became a unitary authority, removing it from the non-metropolitan county.[7]
The reorganisation began in October 2020, when the Government invited the councils in the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and the City of York Council to submit proposals for reorganisation into unitary local authorities. The county council proposed a single unitary council for its entire administrative area and no change to York. The district councils (except Hambleton) jointly proposed an eastern council combining the areas of Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby and York, and a western council including Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate and Richmondshire. Following a public consultation, in July 2021 the Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, announced that the county council's proposal would be taken forward and the first elections for the new unitary authority would be held in May 2022.[8][9] The reorganisation was approved by Parliament on 17 March 2022.
Since 2023 the council has provided both district-level and county-level services.[3] Most of the area is covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government. Between 1974 and 2023 the council provided only county-level services.
Political control
The council has been under no overall control since June 2023, being led by a Conservative minority administration with support from three of the independent councillors.[10][11]
The first election to the county council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control since 1974 has been as follows:[12][13]
North Yorkshire County Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1993 | |
| No overall control | 1993–2001 | |
| Conservative | 2001–2023 | |
North Yorkshire Council (unitary authority)
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 2023–2023 | |
| No overall control | 2023–present | |
Leadership
The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:[14]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Ashton | Conservative | 20 June 2001 | ||
| John Weighell | Conservative | 20 June 2001 | 20 May 2015 | |
| Carl Les | Conservative | 20 May 2015 | ||
Composition
Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to April 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 45 | |
| Independent | 15 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 13 | |
| Labour | 11 | |
| Green | 4 | |
| Liberal | 1 | |
| Reform UK | 1 | |
| Social Justice Party | 1 | |
| Total | 90 | |
Of the fifteen independent councillors, three sit with the Conservatives as the "Conservatives and Independents" group, which forms the council's administration, eleven form the "North Yorkshire Independents" group and the remaining councillor is unaffiliated to any group. The Liberal councillor sits in a group with the Liberal Democrats.[15] The next election is due in 2027.
Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the area has been divided into 90 electoral divisions, each electing one councillor. An election on the new boundaries was held in 2022, prior to the change to being a unitary authority. The next election is due in 2027, after which elections will be held every four years.[3]
The council is based at County Hall on Racecourse Lane, Northallerton (the building is just outside Northallerton's parish boundaries, being in the parish of Romanby).[16] County Hall was completed in 1906 as the headquarters for the North Riding County Council. It is a Grade II* listed building.[17] It transferred to the North Yorkshire County Council on local government reorganisation in 1974.
North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York Council have proposed that the new unitary authority will create a combined authority with the City of York Council.[18] In August 2022 the government and the two councils agreed proposals for a devolution deal, which will require the formation of a combined authority and election of a directly elected mayor for the combined authority. The proposals are subject to a public consultation, and anticipate that elections for the first mayor would take place in May 2024.[19]
- Having been acting chairman since death of predecessor in November 2022.[1]
- "North Yorkshire County Council elects new chair after predecessor's death". BBC News. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- Aitchison, Gavin (13 May 2010). "Richard Flinton is new chief executive at North Yorkshire County Council". York Press. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- "The North Yorkshire (Structural Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/328, retrieved 16 December 2023
- Brown, Jonathan (27 May 2014). "Spinning Yarm: The referendum hoping to bring this picturesque". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- Chrystal, Paul; Sunderland, Mark (2010). Northallerton through time. Stroud: Amberley. p. 18. ISBN 9781848681811.
- Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (22 July 2021). "Consultation response summary: local government reorganisation". GOV.UK. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "The North Yorkshire (District of York) (Structural and Boundary Changes) Order 1995". Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (21 July 2021). "Next steps for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset". GOV.UK. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- House of Commons (21 July 2021). "Local Government Update Written Statement". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- Plummer, John (12 June 2023). "Conservatives lose majority on North Yorkshire Council". The Stray Ferret. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- "North Yorkshire: Conservatives lose majority after councillor quits". BBC News. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- "North Yorkshire". BBC News Online. BBC. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
- "Council minutes". North Yorkshire County Council. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- "Your councillors by political group". North Yorkshire Council. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- Historic England. "County Hall (Grade II*) (1150967)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- "A unitary council for North Yorkshire. The case for change" (PDF). North Yorkshire County Council. p. 12. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- "York and North Yorkshire devolution deal". Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.