Yorkshire move for Teesside town hits hurdle over council vote

Hopes of moving Yarm from Teesside into North Yorkshire have hit a hurdle after councillors voted against supporting the move.

In May voters in Yarm overwhelmingly backed a proposal to leave Teesside and move to North Yorkshire. In a move designed to send a clear message of discord, nearly nine out of 10 residents in the town voted in favour of leaving Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and becoming part of neighbouring Hambleton in North Yorkshire.

However yesterday Stockton Council leader Coun Bob Cook said members of the authority’s cabinet had recommended the full council reject referring the request to the boundary commission for a review when it meets on September 17.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said the committee had voted to recommend that “no more action” was taken.

Yarm is currently administered by Stockton but the poll showed 1,465 people in the town wished to join Hambleton, with 177 opting to stay in Stockton. Turnout was 24 per cent.

The vote, called by Yarm Town Council, is not legally binding.

At the time critics argued the poll was unlikely to bring 
about any change at all but campaigners using the yarm4yorkshire twitter name disagree with how the borough council has dealt with local issues such as parking.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However Coun Cook has earlier said the local authority delivered “a huge range of very high quality services.”

If the full council vote against the cabinet’s recommendation on September 17 and instead agrees the issue should be considered by the Boundary Commission feasibility studies will then have to be organised.