New town council to cost residents £28 a year

Council tax bills will rise by about £28 a year for Scarborough residents to pay for the creation of a new town council.

Following the abolition of eight borough councils in North Yorkshire, it was suggested Harrogate and Scarborough should have their own town councils.

North Yorkshire Council said the new authority would offer more power to local communities and take responsibility for some issues including Christmas lights and public toilets.

Scarborough's budget was set at £384,000 for its first year, while Harrogate's budget was set at £362,000.

Heather Phillips, the executive member for corporate services, said all the relevant parties including charter trustees in both towns had been consulted and recommended that the plan be approved.

It will mean householders with a band D property in Scarborough will pay an additional £28.88 on their council tax bills next year.

People living in Harrogate will be charged an additional £12.73.

Future charges after next year will be decided by the elected councillors in each town.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, some councillors expressed concerns about the reaction of residents to the extra charge.

However, councillor Liz Colling said additional funds had been put into the budget to allow the new town councillors to "hit the ground running" after elections in May.

The budget included hiring a town clerk and administrative support as well as an interim clerk, equipment and setting up a website.

After staffing, which has been budgeted at £115,000 for the full-time town clerk and admin support, the second largest single expense will be contingency funds at £100,000.

Any unspent funds will be carried forward to 2026-27 to “provide funds to mitigate future risk and capacity for service investment”.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.