PEOPLE in Craven are set to head to the polls in May to elect a new shadow authority which in just more than a year’s time will replace the current two-tier system of local councils in North Yorkshire.

The new ‘North Yorkshire Council’ will replace the current eight councils including Craven District Council, based in Skipton, and the Northallerton based Yorkshire County Council in what is the biggest shake-up of local government in 50 years.

In place of the current 30 councillors on Craven District Council and the seven representing Craven divisions on North Yorkshire County Council, there will be just nine new councillors representing the whole area covered by the two existing authorities. The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is not part of the reorganisation.

In total, there will be 90 new councillors representing 89 new divisions on the new North Yorkshire Council, all of who are set to be elected in May. Potential members of the new authority are currently manoeuvring for fewer seats and will canvas for votes with just a basic knowledge of the new council.

The new ‘shadow’ authority will run alongside the current councils for a year until April 1, 2023 when it will assume control, with some councillors potentially members of three councils at the same time.

The county council, which submitted the successful proposal to the Government for a single authority and is heading the reorganisation, has announced the legal process paving the way for reorganisation is underway.

A draft Structural Changes Order is now before Parliament and paves the way for elections on May 5. It also states the name of the new council will be North Yorkshire Council and is expected to be approved in March.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of Yorkshire County Council and chair of the senior councillor group overseeing planning for the new authority said: “This is an exciting moment for North Yorkshire and one which I hope people will look back on in the future as a game-changer for the county’s economic fortunes.

“The new single council will give our county a much stronger voice regionally and nationally and allows us to bring together the very best of all eight councils to build the best possible new one.”

Paul Shevlin, chief executive of Craven District Council, said the new council would be ‘local’ with staff continuing to live and work in the communities where they served.

Mr Shevlin said:”There will be a main office in each district supported by customer access points across North Yorkshire.

“Community-led decision making will be bolstered by formal partnership networks bringing together residents, councillors, businesses, town and parish councils, MPs, community groups and partners like the NHS and police and fire service.

“Alongside these networks, area committees will hold the new council to account and oversee decisions on things like licensing and planning at a local level. We are busy laying the foundations of the council so that when the new councillors are in place they have a framework to build on. We want to be able to deliver on our ambitions and positive progress is being made.”

Cllr Simon Myers, deputy leader of Craven District Council, said it was important that people took the time to vote in May and that the right people were chosen because next year not only would they have the current councils to run, but also the putting together of the new authority.

“The elections are so important, the new authority will need the most capable and hardest working of councillors,” he said.

Richard Flinton, chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, and chair of the officer team carrying out the planning for the new authority, described it as an ‘historic moment for North Yorkshire.’

He said: “I am particularly pleased that the legal order references our ambitions to deliver on devolution. To drive strong and lasting economic recovery post pandemic for the county and wider region we will need the devolution of powers and money from national government. This will allow us to focus on our own priorities and will give us the resources to deliver them.”

Cllr Les added: “These are very important elections, because the councillors voted in this May will serve the final year of the county council and then they will be the voice of the people for the first four years of the new single council.”

“This continuity is important and means that decisions on what public services will look like in the future and matters like council tax can start being made ahead of North Yorkshire Council’s first day on April 1 2023.”