Single council challenged in court

THE basis on which proposals have been made for the possible restructure of local government in North Yorkshire is to be challenged in the High Court by a Yorkshire Dales council.

Harrogate Borough Council is to join two other councils - Congleton and Shrewsbury - who have already applied for leave to proceed with their application that the Secretary of State - Ruth Kelly - did not have the legal power to invite councils to bid to restructure local government and therefore she should not have put out these proposals for consultation in their areas.

Harrogate Borough Council has taken independent legal advice from a leading local government barrister and his advice is that the same is true of the North Yorkshire County Council bid which seeks to abolish the county council and all seven district councils to form one single council for the whole of the county.

Papers were served yesterday (14 June) in the High Court and Harrogate has notified both sides of the on-going litigation that it believes that the same arguments apply to this council and will ask the Judge to consider its case alongside Congleton and Shrewsbury set for hearing on Monday (18 June).

The Local Government Act 1992 sets out the procedures to be used for changing the organisation and structure of local government. The Secretary of State did not use those powers an on this occasion is relying on a Bill which is not yet law and which may be changed before it is passed. Harrogate Borough Council believes her actions should comply with the law as it is now and not as it may be in the future.

This council is firmly opposed to the undemocratic and flawed proposals made by the county council

Mike Gardner - Harrogate Borough Council

Councillor Mike Gardner, Leader of the Council, says: "This council is firmly opposed to the undemocratic and flawed proposals made by the county council. This is just not the right kind of local government for the Harrogate district. Indeed, centralising services in Northallerton would take the local out of local government.

"We have already set a robust challenge to the proposals via the joint district councils' submission to the Minister. That submission has to be with Phil Woollas by 22 June. Our plan is to hand deliver it to the Houses of Parliament on the 19th when of course we may already know the legal outcome."

All district councils in North Yorkshire are opposed to the county council's bid. They believe that the county council's figures are flawed; that set up costs would be greater and efficiencies lower. Coupled with that, a recent public survey carried out by Mori found little support for the changes.