Councillors in Craven say they are preparing to fight against a "complete dilution" of key services under the new North Yorkshire Council as it prepares to launch at a time of economic turmoil.
Councillor Richard Foster, leader of Craven District Council, said he was concerned how the new authority is taking shape and how it will cope with what will be the biggest changes to local government in the county in almost 50 years.
Speaking at a meeting on Tuesday, he said: “The new authority is going to have to cope because it still has to deliver services.
“But we will have to make sure it doesn’t result in a complete dilution of services – that is the big thing we have all got to stand up for.”
His comments as prime minister Liz Truss has said she is “absolutely” not planning public spending cuts to bring down national debt.
But many key figures across local government remained concerned over how councils will be able to fund services and major projects as inflation rises after years of austerity.
Mid-Craven councillor Simon Myers, who is also executive member for planning for growth on North Yorkshire County Council, said local authorities “can not take cuts”.
He also urged the government to recognise the “enormous” responsibilities of the new North Yorkshire Council as the county undergoes a major reorganisation.
The new council will officially launch on 1st April 2023 when the eight existing county, district and borough councils will be abolished.
It will take control of all key services from adult social care to bin collections, and planning to highways, with an annual budget of £1.4 billion and a workforce of 10,500 staff.
The major changes are linked to a devolution deal with government which is worth £540 million over 30 years for York and North Yorkshire, and will eventually see the region get a directly-elected mayor.
There has also been a promise of more decision-making powers being filtered down to a local level.
But Councillor Foster said he was concerned most key decisions will come out of the new council’s Northallerton headquarters and that local area committees will not have the powers that had been hoped for.
He said: “The new structure for officers has been mooted and is taking shape – it is going to be a core team which will be based out of Northallerton
“That means even with modern ways of working, we are again going to become an outlier.
“The area committees are also maybe not as powerful as we hoped for post-election, but that is something we have got to fight for.”
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