A claim up to 3,000 jobs could go in Northallerton was “misleading and irresponsible’, says Hambleton District Council’s leader.
Cllr Mark Robson has spoken out after prominent Conservative members of the Tory-led council, who are also North Yorkshire County councillors, said they feared “an economic catastrophe” in the town unless at least one local authority centre of administration remained there.
In an unprecedented move, the councillors this week issued an appeal to the district council, which is among a group of seven district councils pushing for a two unitary authority solution for the county, to stand by their commitment to stand up for local residents and businesses alike when they make a decision to support any proposal.
The call came days after the district council sent 4,600 letters to businesses asking for their support in preventing North Yorkshire County Council’s ambition for a single unitary authority for the county becoming a reality.
Cllr Robson said in response to the claim 3,000 Northallerton jobs could be lost if the proposal to create two unitary authorities for North Yorkshire was agreed: “As leader of Hambleton District Council, let me be very clear about this – this claim is misleading and frankly irresponsible.
“People are already nervous about job and financial security post COVID, and more propaganda and shameless scaremongering from the county council, for what appears to be their own gain, simply adds to people’s woes and worries. It is in very bad taste indeed and it both saddens and disappoints me that it’s come to this.
“Residents and businesses across Hambleton deserve honesty and fairness whilst we work out what local government in North Yorkshire and York will look like in the future.
“Only last week myself and the other districts and borough council leaders released a statement to the media calling on the county council to play fair with the public as it campaigns to create its mega council delivering all services across 8,000 square kilometres.
“It’s disappointing that only days later we see perhaps the lowest blow yet, putting fear into people about their livelihood, all aimed at scaring the residents of Hambleton and council employees into backing their mega council campaign.”
He added that in contrast, as leader of Hambleton, he was listening to residents and thinking carefully, because he “wanted to get change right”.
“My aim is simple – to secure the best possible local council services for the people of Hambleton for the future and the truth is at this stage in the process, no one knows what that council will look like yet, let alone any impacts on jobs or employment in our district.
“Along with the other district and borough council leaders, we are exploring all the options with an independent study and we will ultimately be guided by evidence and there’s already good news – early analysis shows there are practical and democratic benefits to creating two unitary authorities with roughly even populations.
“This would result in new councils across North Yorkshire and York, both large enough to be efficient into the future but local enough to keep those strong local connections that we know delivers to our communities.
“I am standing here today and promising to play fair, to be frank, to put the people of Hambleton’s needs first and to be open and responsive to feedback as we go through this process. I would invite North Yorkshire County Council to do the same.”
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