A North Yorkshire ‘super-council’ must protect local services – Keane Duncan

But the prospect of a single council covering 8,000 square kilometres, from the North Sea in the east to 10 miles short of the Irish Sea in the west, could be a reality by 2022 if some get their way.

Goodbye North Yorkshire County Council, the seven districts and maybe City of York too. Hello to England’s most populous unitary authority.

Nothing of this size and scope exists anywhere else in the country. No other unitary beats its sheer land mass, nor can compete in population terms.

Yet, as Covid costs escalate and with devolution dawning, it is right for local government minister Simon Clarke to issue his simple, straightforward instruction to council leaders: you must change, and change fast.

But a ‘super’ solution – a North Yorkshire-wide unitary with 600,000 residents, or 800,000 if York is included – could ink this golden opportunity for our county.

If we are to genuinely ‘level up’ our corner of Yorkshire we must reform via engagement and empowerment, rather than a remote, corporate and cold authority-making process.

The area under the government microscope is where 825,000 people proudly call home. We know how special our area is already, but know it could be even better.

With government support we have the chance to show what we can do when we combine genuinely-responsive, community-focussed authorities with long-awaited, new powers devolved from Westminster.

England’s first carbon-negative region, millions invested in new infrastructure and transformed town centres could be delivered by a new ‘metro’ mayor working in partnership with the leaders of local councils our residents are proud of.

The size, identity and culture of the new authorities, then, will be just as crucial to our future fortunes as the finer details of the ‘devo deal’ and the credentials of our new mayor.

Mr Clarke stresses his open mind and lack of prejudice. But he has been frank about his expectations and the key parameters that proposals for new councils should be forged within.

The confusing conundrum of North Yorkshire’s two-tier arrangements must cease, while the City of York, with its “sub-optimal” population of 200,000, must expand to meet future challenges.

Unitary authorities with 400,000 people are “optimal”, according to the minister.

Evidence produced by his department shows there is relatively little, if any, financial benefit to creating authorities of greater size than this.

In fact, the UK and Europe’s biggest council, Birmingham, suffers well-documented, chronic financial flaws despite a “critical mass” of 1.1 million residents.

Size matters. But big is not always best for delivering quality services. As Birmingham shows, population alone is no automatic determinant of success. Community, accountability and identity matter too.

Reorganisation elsewhere (see Buckinghamshire, most recently) shows big unitary councils on existing, whole county footprints can find favour with government.

But a rural authority with a population size of North Yorkshire, with or without York attached, would create a radical, new precedent. A real first.

Even at its smallest extent, the 600,000 option, a new ‘super’ unitary would be larger than any created before it.

How would the public engage with one, centralised authority across a huge geographical area? Just how would services be delivered effectively and with appropriate local input?

Rural North Yorkshire, containing the ancient City of York, deserves an approach tailored to its challenges, opportunities, diverse geography and special character.

We have a very short window – a matter of weeks – to seize this moment and formulate alternatives to rival the ‘super council’ option.

Failure to make a constructive case will only mean our destiny is decided for us, via mathematical formulae rather than local communities.

The most likely result, then, would be a recreated and rehashed North Yorkshire County Council rather than fresh authorities with fresh perspectives truly capable of driving the Government’s reform agenda throughout every corner of the county.

I am proud of my council, everything we do and everyone who works for it. I am excited by change, yet unashamed to admit it will be a very sad day if and when we do say goodbye forever.

But before Ryedale fades into oblivion, we must do all we can to ensure our local government stays exactly that: local.

Keane Duncan is leader of Ryedale District Council and a member of North Yorkshire County Council.

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