A county’s future

North Yorkshire devolution test

THE STRENGTH of feeling about North Yorkshire’s potential devolution deal – and shake- up of local government in rural areas – should be recognised as a strength as rival blueprints are finalised and unveiled.

Unlike those areas where public apathy has come to define such debates, people fortunate enough to live and work in England’s largest county clearly care about its future; one benchmark is the volume of letters to this newspaper on the subject.

And this level of interest is good news because the proponents of the two main plans – whether it be the super- council favoured by North Yorkshire County Council or East- West split advocated by some of the district councils – will have to face forensic scrutiny from local residents. They will be asked tough questions and be expected to come up with more than satisfactory answers.

Such rigour can only be healthy for democracy and, furthermore, ensuring that the respective visions for North Yorkshire’s future governance command grassroots support from the outset – a point recognised by NYCC leader Carl

Les who says his plan is committed to maintaining offices in every district alongside 30 access points.

A key test will, therefore, be the number of parish councils – authorities who know local areas best of all – sign up to this approach in the coming weeks, or whether the East- West bid can match the efficiency savings set out by NYCC. Either way, it will be crucial, at the end of this process, that North Yorkshire – and the Government – embraces a prospectus which commands significant support and is not a solution that ends up being imposed on the county, and against the will of local people.