IN May, we will be asked to elect who we want to represent us in the new North Yorkshire Council.

The new authority will incorporate all the functions of the eight district, borough and county councils that currently serve North Yorkshire.

That’s including education, planning, social care, the emptying of bins, and highways.

Replacing the 30 members of Craven District Council and the seven who represent Craven on North Yorkshire County Council will be just nine new councillors - that’s just nine people to do the job currently carried out by 37.

The new council will run alongside the current councils as a shadow authority for a year before taking on the job in April 2023 - one can only hope those elected to the new authority are not entirely exhausted by then, many of who will have spent the previous 12 months switching between three councils, all of which will still be making important decisions. After all, the business of running public services does not just stop for local government reorganisation.

It is the biggest shake up of local government for 50 years. When North Yorkshire Council becomes the single unitary authority on April 1 2023, it will be one year short of the 50th anniversary of the birth of Craven Council and North Yorkshire County Council, both of which will cease to exist.

We need to pick our new councillors very carefully, they will have a massive task ahead and will need to be the most capable and energetic of candidates for the task ahead.