Filey Town Council is seeking a transfer of assets as part of a double devolution plan for North Yorkshire.
Ahead of April’s local government reorganisation and the creation of a new county-wide authority, Filey Town Council is set to apply to take over the operation of certain assets.
The shake-up will see the abolition of Scarborough Council and many of its services and assets will be operated by the new North Yorkshire Council unless local authorities apply to take them over.
The service that Filey Town Council wants to provide is the management of around 300 public benches with ownership of the benches being transferred to Filey Town Council from Scarborough Borough Council, according to a report which states:
"The plan would be to take ownership of these benches, to receive payment (approx. £9,200 per year) from the Unitary Authority and begin a re-allocation project on these benches which would create an income to both replace benches where required and maintain the existing benches"
Filey Town Council has said that the transfer will benefit the local community and visitors as there is currently a waiting list of more than 70 people for commemorative benches.
Around five people a month apply for commemorative benches and the asset working party has said that the list “would be reduced and effectively managed”.
On Friday, February 24 members of Filey Town Council’s assets and services working party are set to recommend an expression of interest to transfer the assets as part of a scheme for double devolution.
The asset and service transfer is a pilot scheme that is part of a wider plan across North Yorkshire aiming to promote double devolution whereby town and parish councils as well as community groups can manage services and assets on behalf of the new council.
Although the benches sometimes suffer from vandalism “there is historically very little evidence of this” and Filey Town Council said it has an insurance policy as well as financial reserves in case of changes in demand for the benches.
The report states that a
“reallocation project on these benches would create an income to both replace benches where required and maintain the existing benches”.
The benches are located throughout Filey and would be “greatly missed if they were not available”.
The report states:
“A number of these benches are of a heritage nature and Filey Town Council having control of these would ensure that this heritage is maintained,”
A Filey Town Council Working Party will review the proposal on Friday prior to sending the document to the new North Yorkshire Council.
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