North Yorkshire Council | |
|---|---|
 Logo from 1 April 2023 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1974 |
| Leadership | |
Richard Flinton since 2010[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 90 |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| County Hall, Racecourse Lane,Northallerton, DL7 8AD | |
| Website | |
| www | |
North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 asNorth Yorkshire County Council, is thelocal authority for theunitary authority area ofNorth Yorkshire, England. Theceremonial county ofNorth Yorkshire is larger, and includesMiddlesbrough,Redcar and Cleveland,York and part ofStockton-on-Tees. The council is based atCounty Hall, Northallerton, and consists of 90 councillors. It is a member of theYork and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Since the2022 local elections the council has been underno overall control, with aConservative minority administration supported by threeindependent councillors. The Conservative councillor Carl Les is theleader of the council.
The council was created in 1974, whenlocal government in England was reformed and thenon-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire was created, governed by a county council and eight district councils. In 1996 the district of York was enlarged and reconstituted as aunitary authority, making it independent of the non-metropolitan county. North Yorkshire County Council was itself reconstituted as a unitary authority on 1 April 2023, when the seven remaining district councils were abolished and the county council took on their responsibilities.
Thenon-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and its county council were formed in 1974 from thecounty borough of York, the majority of theadministrative county ofYorkshire, North Riding, the northern part ofYorkshire, West Riding, and the northern and eastern fringes ofYorkshire, East Riding.[3] The headquarters of the new council wasCounty Hall inNorthallerton, which had been the headquarters of theNorth Riding County Council.[4][5]
The non-metropolitan county originally had eightdistricts:Craven,Hambleton,Harrogate,Richmondshire,Ryedale,Scarborough,Selby, andYork.[6] In 1996 a largerYork district was created, taking in parishes from the Harrogate, Ryedale and Selby districts, and was made aunitary authority area, removing it from the non-metropolitan county (the area administered by the county council).[7]
A further process of reorganisation began in October 2020, when theMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government invited the councils in the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and the City of York Council to submit proposals for reorganisation into unitary areas. North Yorkshire County Council proposed a single unitary authority for the non-metropolitan county and no change to York. The other councils, with the exception of Hambleton and York, jointly proposed an eastern council, combining the areas of Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby and York; and a western council, combining Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate and Richmondshire. Following a public consultation, in July 2021 theCommunities Secretary,Robert Jenrick, announced that the county council's proposal would be taken forward and the first elections for the new unitary authority would be held in May 2022.[8][9]
The reorganisation was approved by parliament on 17 March 2022. It was effected by abolishing the seven districts and their councils and creating a new district with the same area and name as the non-metropolitan county. North Yorkshire County Council became a unitary authority, with the powers of both a non-metropolitan county and non-metropolitan district council. As part of the reforms, the county council was given the option to omit the word "county" from its name, which it took, becoming North Yorkshire Council.[10]
Acombined authority was established in 2024 by North Yorkshire Council and York City Council, called theYork and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. It is chaired by the directly electedMayor of York and North Yorkshire.[11][12]
Since 2023 the council has provided bothdistrict-level andcounty-level services. Between 1974 and 2023 the council provided only county-level services. Legally, it is a county council with the powers of a district council.[13] Most of the non-metropolitan county is covered bycivil parishes, which form a second tier of local government.
The council has been underno overall control since June 2023, being led by aConservative minority administration with support from three of the independent councillors.[14][15]
The first election to the county council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control since 1974 has been as follows:[16][17]
North Yorkshire County Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1993 | |
| No overall control | 1993–2001 | |
| Conservative | 2001–2023 | |
North Yorkshire Council (unitary authority)
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 2023–2023 | |
| No overall control[14] | 2023–present | |
Theleaders of the council since 1997 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Ashton[18][19] | Conservative | May 1997 | Jun 2001 | |
| John Weighell[20][19][21] | Conservative | 20 Jun 2001 | 20 May 2015 | |
| Carl Les[22][23] | Conservative | 20 May 2015 | ||
Following the2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to October 2025, the composition of the council was:[24][25]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 43 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 13 | |
| Labour | 10 | |
| Green | 4 | |
| Reform | 3 | |
| Liberal | 1 | |
| Independent | 16 | |
| Total | 90 | |
Of the independent councillors, three sit with the Conservatives as the "Conservatives and Independents" group, which forms the council's administration, nine sit as the "North Yorkshire Independents" group which also includes one of the Reform UK councillors, and the remaining four independents are unaffiliated to any group. The Liberal councillor sits in a group with the Liberal Democrats.[26] The next election is due in 2027.[25]
Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the area has been divided into 90electoral divisions, each electing onecouncillor. An election on the new boundaries was held in 2022, prior to the change to being a unitary authority. The next election is due in 2027, after which elections will be held every four years.[13]
The council is based atCounty Hall on Racecourse Lane,Northallerton (the building is just outside Northallerton's parish boundaries, being in the parish ofRomanby).[27] County Hall was completed in 1906 as the headquarters for theNorth Riding County Council. It is a Grade II*listed building.[28] It transferred to the North Yorkshire County Council on local government reorganisation in 1974.
