1. Introduction
1.1 All parts of North Yorkshire are located within one of the 729 parish areas that currently exist.
1.2 The parishes are currently represented by 572 parish/town councils or parish meetings, with a number of the parish areas being part of a grouped parish/town council, which is a single parish/town council established to govern two or more neighbouring parishes.
1.2 North Yorkshire Council (the Council) as the principal authority in the area has decided to undertake a Community Governance Review (CGR) in respect of those parish areas listed as being areas under review at paragraph 4 below. This document sets out the terms of reference for the CGR.
2. What is a Community Governance Review (CGR)?
2.1 A CGR is a process which provides an opportunity to review, create and make changes to governance arrangements for town and parish councils and parish areas.
2.2 More specifically it provides an opportunity to put in place clearly defined boundaries, which reflect local identities and facilitate effective and convenient local government. A CGR can consider one or more of the following:
- creating, merging, altering or abolishing parishes
- the naming of parishes and the style of new parishes
- whether there should be a parish council and if so the electoral arrangements for a parish council including the ordinary year of election; the number of councillors to be elected; and the warding (if any) of the parish; and/or
- grouping parishes under a common parish council or de-grouping parishes
3. Why undertake a CGR?
3.1 The Council believes that parish and town councils can play an important role in terms of community empowerment at the local level and wants to ensure that parish governance arrangements within North Yorkshire are robust, representative and enabled to meet new challenges.
3.2 This review is taking place in response to specific requests for a CGR from parishes or residents for reasons particular to their own geography and composition.
3.3 The review also recognises that a small number of parish group arrangements need reviewing to ensure that each parish area is properly represented and their geographical boundaries clear. More particularly the review is required to ensure that each parish in a grouped parish council is represented by at least one councillor.
3.4 When carrying out a CGR the council will look to ensure that:
- that there is clarity and transparency to the areas that parishes cover, and parish councils represent; and
- that the electoral arrangements of parishes (the warding arrangements and the allocations of councillors) are appropriate, equitable and understood by their electorate
4. Areas to be reviewed
4.1 The following parish areas, which do not have a parish council, have asked the council to review their boundaries as explained in the table below.
| Request/Proposal | Areas to be reviewed |
|---|---|
| Barden Parish Meeting request to consider a merger with Appletreewick Parish Council |
Barden Parish Meeting Appletreewick Parish Council |
| Bolton-on-Swale Parish Meeting request to consider a merger with a neighbouring parish area |
Bolton-on-Swale Parish Meeting Scorton Parish Council Ellerton-on-Swale Parish Council |
| Dunsforths Parish Meeting request to consider a merger with a neighbouring parish area (possibly Great Ouseburn) |
Dunsforths Parish Meeting Aldwark Area Parish Council Boroughbridge Town Council Great Ouseburn Parish Council Marton-cum-Grafton Parish Council Myton-on-Swale Parish Meeting |
| Request from Bedale Town Council to merge Rand Grange Parish Meeting (whole or in part) with Bedale |
Rand Grange Parish Meeting Bedale Town Council |
| Request from Spennithorne Parish Meeting to consider a merger with a neighbouring parish area |
Spennithorne Parish Meeting Harmby Parish Council Constable Burton and Finghall Parish Council Middleham Town Council Thornton Steward Parish Meeting |
| Request from Dacre Parish Council to consider a merger with Thornthwaite with Padside Parish Meeting |
Thornthwaite with Padside Parish Meeting Dacre Parish Council |
4.2 The following parish councils or residents in their area have asked the council to review their boundaries and governance arrangements as explained in the table below.
| Request/Proposal | Areas to be reviewed |
|---|---|
| Request from Kirby Hill and District Parish Council to redistribute councillors in the grouped parish to reflect housing development |
Kirby Hill and District Parish Council which is a grouped parish council formed of the following parishes: Ellerton Humberton Kirby Hill Milby Thornton Bridge |
| Request from Lillings Ambo Parish Council to consider a merger with a neighbouring parish area |
Lillings Ambo Parish Council Sheriff Hutton Parish Council Flaxton Parish Council Foston with Thornton le Clay Parish Council |
| Request from Newall with Clifton Parish Council to dissolve the parish council or merge with a neighbouring parish area |
Newall with Clifton Parish Council Lower Washburn Parish Council Mid Wharfedale Parish Council Washburn Parish Council |
| Request from Thorpe Willoughby Parish Council to alter the boundaries across the neighbouring parishes of Hambleton and Gateforth |
Thorpe Willoughby Parish Council Hambleton Parish Council Gateforth Parish Council |
| Request from Welburn Parish Council to dissolve the parish council or merge with another parish area |
Welburn Parish Council Bulmer Parish Council Henderskelfe Parish Meeting Huttons Ambo Parish Meeting Westow Parish Council Whitwell on the Hill and Crambe Parish Council |
4.3 Potto Parish Council has requested that the Parish Council be dissolved, and a Parish Meeting be put in its place. In addition to consulting on this request it is proposed that a merger with a neighbouring parish also be consulted upon and considered.
| Areas to be reviewed | Request/Proposal |
|---|---|
| Potto Parish Council request to change to a parish meeting |
Potto Parish Council Whorlton Parish Council Rudby Parish Council Faceby Parish Meeting Sexhow Parish Meeting |
4.4 The following grouped parish councils are not currently represented in each parish area and as such a review is recommended:
| Areas to be reviewed | Proposal | Parish areas affected |
|---|---|---|
| Constable Burton and Finghall Parish Council | Review the grouped arrangements so that each grouped parish has at least one allocated seat |
Akebar Barden Constable Burton East Hauxwell Finghall Garriston Hutton Hang West Hauxwell |
| Hudswell and District Parish Council | Review the grouped arrangements so that each grouped parish has at least one allocated seat |
Downholme Hudswell Stainton Walburn |
| Kirklington with Sutton Howgrave Parish Council | Review the grouped arrangements so that each grouped parish has at least one allocated seat |
Howgrave Kirklington-cum-Upsland Sutton with Howgrave |
| Thornton-le-Beans Parish Council | Review the grouped arrangements so that each grouped parish has at least one allocated seat |
Cotcliffe Crosby Thornton-le-Beans |
4.5 The following parishes have internal ward boundaries which would require clarification and would therefore benefit from a review:
| Areas to be reviewed | Proposal |
|---|---|
| Staintondale Parish Council | Clarify and amend the ward boundary line between Staintondale ward, and Ravenscar ward |
4.6 The following parish councils have requested a review with a view to reducing their council size to enable them to be quorate:
| Areas to be reviewed | Proposal |
|---|---|
| Escrick Parish Council | Requested a reduction in seats from 11 to 9 to enable to enable a quoracy to be achieved more frequently |
| Sherburn Parish Council | Requested a reduction in seats from 11 to 9 to enable a quoracy to be achieved more frequently as meetings are often cancelled due to the parish council not being quorate and have struggled to recruit members |
4.7 The CGR will not automatically mean there will be changes but it will examine whether there is a case for change. Those neighbouring parishes that could be affected by the above requests and proposals will be notified as part of the consultation exercise which is explained later in these terms of reference.
5. Who will undertake the CGR
5.1 As the relevant principal authority, the Council is responsible for conducting any CGR within its electoral area.
5.2 The Council will oversee the review and produce draft and final recommendations. In coming to its recommendations, the Council will need to take account of the views of local people. A full consultation process will form part of the CGR to ensure that the views of local people are considered. Council will approve the final recommendations before a Re-organisation Order is made.
6. Legislation and guidance
6.1 In undertaking the CGR, the Council will adhere to Part 4 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (2007 Act) and the relevant parts of the Local Government Act 1972.
6.2 The Department of Communities and Local Government and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England has issued Guidance on Community Governance Reviews in accordance with section 100(4) of the 2007 Act in March 2010, and the Council will have regard to the Guidance.
7. The council’s approach to this CGR
7.1 The 2007 Act requires Council when undertaking a CGR to ensure that community governance arrangements within the area under review are:
- reflective of the identities and interests of the community in that area; and
- effective and convenient.
7.2 In doing so, the CGR is required to take into account the:
- impact of community governance arrangements on community cohesion; and
- size, population and boundaries or a local community or parish
8. Timetable for the CGR
8.1 A timetable for the review has been produced at Annex A.
8.2 Any Re-organisation Order made following a CGR should, for administrative and financial reasons take effect on 1 April 2027 being the start of the financial year following the making of an Order.
8.3 Electoral arrangements will come into force at the first elections in May 2027.
9. Existing parish governance arrangements
9.1 As well as electorate information, Annex B includes information regarding the following:
- type of governance, e.g. parish/town council, grouped parish or parish meeting
- current number of parish councillors
- ratio of current councillors to electorate
- current parliamentary constituency
- parish precepts (the amount that each parish requests to be raised from council tax)
9.2 When the Council comes to consider electoral arrangements for the parish councils in its area, it is required to consider any change in the number or distribution of electors which is likely to occur in the period of five years beginning with the day when the CGR starts. Electorate forecasts have been prepared using the methodology endorsed by the Local Government Boundary Commission. Forecast information is also included in Annex B.
9.3 The council will produce maps and data sets to provide further statistical information on these matters and these will be published as they are prepared.
10. Consultation
10.1 An initial consultation will take place between 29 September to 22 December 2025, inviting local people and stakeholders to give their views on community governance arrangements in their local area.
10.2 The initial consultation results will then be collated and weighed against the statutory criteria and used to form the draft recommendations that follow for further consultation.
10.3 All initial representations must be made by 22 December 2025.
10.4 Representations received will be published, as will the reasons for accepting or rejecting any such representations.
10.5 Consultation on the draft recommendations is planned to take place between 19 March and 11 June 2026.
10.6 The Council will publicise the review by displaying a notice at the Council Offices and on the Council’s website. The Council will also write to all parish councils, households, the Yorkshire Association of Local Councils, and the MP’s covering the areas under review.
10.7 Information about each stage of the review will be published on the Council’s website with key documents available at Council offices.
11. Representations
11.1 The Council welcomes representations during the specified consultation stages as set out in the timetable from any person or body who may wish to comment or make proposals on any aspect of the matters included in the CGR.
11.2 Representations may be made in the following ways:
- By Completing the Survey Form
- Email to CGR@northyorks.gov.uk
- By post to Legal and Democratic Services, County Hall, Northallerton, DL7 8AD