Why North Yorkshire needs East and West approach in council shake-up – Keane Duncan

But it was never meant to happen.

The alternative bid, to consume North Yorkshire into a monolithic council was meant to arrive there, alone and unopposed. “People power” threw a spanner in the works, meaning the county council’s bid to create an entity of unprecedented scale, is joined by an alternative with the credentials and grassroots support to sink it.

At first, our ‘East and West’ proposal was met with curiosity from some, disinterest from most, misunderstanding from others. It would, after all, be a completely new way of doing things.

But soon the logic of two new unitary authorities, large enough to achieve economies of scale, small enough to keep vital local links, became clearer. Two councils balanced in terms of population, economic output and age profile seemed altogether logical.

We are proposing two authorities, just like the county bid. But our two are genuinely attuned to the big challenges we face, rather than accepting and perpetuating them.

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get change right and we want to seize it, breaking boundaries, confronting self interest and shattering empires along the way.

While both ‘East’ and ‘West’ have their own distinctive identities, cooperation between the two will be key. Our model forms the best foundations for a transformative £2bn devolution deal.

Both authorities would have an equal share of the responsibility to deliver its ambitious objectives, but equal opportunity to reap the rewards too, with no one authority dominating.

North Yorkshire is vast. Covering 8,000sq km, it takes almost three hours to get from one side to the other. Connectivity is so bad it is quicker to get to Scotland than traverse its length. There is no economic functionality and, crucially, no single economic focus, with the City of York severed from the county it relies upon and supports in equal measure – altogether bad foundations for a new local authority.

Our alternative reflects how our economy actually works, with the A1(M), the Dales and Harrogate in the ‘West’ and the A64, the Moors, the coast and York in the ‘East’.

Supported by six councils, two MPs and tens of councillors, it commands significant democratic support. But we were never meant to get this far. Labour, Conservative and Independent leaders would never be able to work together. We would never agree, and if we did, no one would take us seriously. At least, that was their hope.

Against the odds, we have been able to cooperate, genuinely and constructively, across party lines to produce a blueprint that defends democracy in our great county and significantly strengthens services into the future.

Along the way, the initial burst of support for the North Yorkshire solution has waned, as the sheer scale of their creation hit home, the shine of their promised ‘double devolution’ to parish councils wore off and business support fizzled out.

Popular resistance to the mega authority grew into genuine support for our alternative.

Our rationale from the start has been to get change right, for our businesses, partners and residents. With no preconceived conclusion, we looked beyond existing structures, accepted the demise of our own councils and positively embraced change.

The audacity of our proposal infuriated some. We have riled establishment figures and disrupted what was meant to be a ‘done deal’ by consulting, listening and reflecting on feedback. The result is a credible, effective and grassroots bid that can be delivered by 2023.

Perhaps what our critics see as most dangerous is the fact our proposal does exactly what the government wants, with two authorities around their “optimal” population threshold of 400,000.

The county’s two miss it by 200,000 in either direction. The risk is one bureaucratic, unwieldy and ineffectual monster, too large to be responsive, surrounding another that is too small to provide the investment, direction and strategy needed.

The county bid has been rejected by government before. Then leader of Hambleton District Council, Arthur Barker, said in 2007 that “people power won the battle”. This time was meant to be different, but with things not going quite according to plan, perhaps people power will win again.

If you believe ‘East and West’ is best, please help us to get change right by visiting get-change-right.com.

Keane Duncan is a Conservative councillor and leader of Ryedale District Council.

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