The leader of a local authority which is preparing to take on the responsibilities of seven district and borough councils has been accused of leaving one area of the county “without a voice”.

A full meeting of North Yorkshire County Council heard the membership of the authority’s decision-making executive was weighted heavily towards the Thirsk and Malton constituency and lacked a single elected member from the Selby and Ainsty constituency, which has an electorate of more than 78,000.

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The concerns highlighted by Osgoldcross division councillor John McCartney follow five parish councils in his area launching a scathing attack over the Northallerton-based county council’s decision-making record in the face of strong opposition from local residents.

Parish council leaders have claimed officers and councillors at County Hall in Northallerton lack local knowledge of the Selby area, parts of which are well over an hour’s drive away from the authority’s headquarters.

Cllr McCartney told the meeting the formation of the unitary authority was part of a “power grab” and that “the lack of geographical diversity” among its decision-making executive had been highlighted to him by parish councils.

While there are seven parliamentary constituencies in North Yorkshire, he said, the council’s ten-member executive comprised of five members from the Thirsk and Malton constituency, two from Scarborough, one from Skipton and Ripon, one from Richmond, one from Harrogate and Knaresborough and “zilch from Selby”.

He said: “That means we do not have a voice on the executive, the people who make all the decisions.

"I do realise if we get a voice it would be a Tory voice, but even that probably would be better than nowt.”

Cllr McCartney said while the authority’s leader, Councillor Carl Les, had pledged to devolve power from County Hall to more local bodies as part of the new unitary authority, parish councils were concerned if the lack of representation on the executive epitomised the reality which those living in Selby and Ainsty constituency would face from April.

He concluded: “Why are there no executive members from the Selby and Ainsty constituency area?”

Cllr Les, who is responsible for selecting members of the executive, replied that he was conscious of trying to achieve an executive with elected members from across the county, but he believed decision-makers should be appointed on merit rather than by their address.

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He said: “It’s virtually impossible to get a geographical spread across the whole of the county.

"People have to be chosen for what they can bring to the debate and bring to the table.”

Cllr Les said there was a committee that was comprised entirely of councillors from Selby and Ainsty constituency, while councillors from the area held senior positions on the authority, such as chairing its planning committee.

He added: “I think I am doing the best I can to get a reasonable spread, but I don’t believe that we should appoint somebody just because they live somewhere.”

 

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