Under a £540m devolution deal agreed with the government, the region is set to get a mayor which will lead a new combined authority – with mayoral elections scheduled to take place in 2024.

Craven District Council leader Richard Foster said he supported the move, but added his “big concern” was how much it would benefit Craven residents.

“It will be a really interesting time at the elections to make sure the mayor does understand other areas and that this doesn’t become York-centric,” Conservative councillor Foster told a meeting on Tuesday.

A district council leader has expressed fears that a new mayor for North Yorkshire and York could become “York-centric” if rural voices are ignored.

“The other thing that we have got to be careful of is that the mayor really does talk to the mayor of West Yorkshire.

“This is really crucial for us because there isn’t a border as far as most people are concerned.

“It is an exciting time in a sense that we are now part of it and our taxes aren’t being spent in other areas, but at the same time we have got a lot of holding to task to do.”

The government has promised new decision-making powers and millions of pounds in funding over the next 30 years as part of the devolution deal which is also linked to the abolition of North Yorkshire’s eight county and district councils.

A new North Yorkshire Council covering the whole county will launch in April and along with City of York Council will have to agree to the creation of the mayoral authority.

If approved, the mayoral authority will be made up of the mayor and two councillors from each council.

Decisions over investments in areas including transport and housing will be decided by a simple majority vote, but the mayor cannot be on the losing side.

Councillor Andrew Brown, leader of the Green Party group on Craven District Council, said there was “little choice other than to support” the changes and that the funding promised would only go some way to make up for years of austerity cuts which are now being compounded by the cost of living crisis.

“This isn’t new money for our area, this is handling reductions of money,” he told Tuesday’s meeting.

“Everyone in North Yorkshire is spending an enormous amount of time on this reorganisation.

“But the challenges we have got with the cost of living crisis hitting local government and care homes are such that we really could do with every eye on the ball.

“We are reorganising the deck chairs while the ship is in danger of sinking.”

Fears North Yorkshire mayor could be 'York-centric' if rural voices ignored