Scarborough Mayor Outlines Town Council's Progress One Year After Election

The Mayor of Scarborough has reflected on the town council's achievements during its inaugural year, highlighting a community grants scheme and a reduction in the precept despite the authority not yet taking on formal responsibilities.

The Mayor of Scarborough has stated that the newly formed town council is successfully delivering for local residents, despite the authority not yet holding any formal responsibilities.

It has now been one year since councillors on the Reform-led Scarborough Town Council officially took up their roles following the local election in May 2025.

That election resulted in eleven Reform councillors, two Independents, and two Labour councillors being elected to represent the community on the new authority.

The town mayor, Councillor Thomas Murray, has now publicly set out exactly what the council has achieved so far, while also outlining its strategic plans for the year ahead.

He explained that a significant amount of meticulous work had gone into establishing the authority from scratch. This effort was aimed at addressing a perceived democratic deficit following the amalgamation of the previous borough council into the unitary North Yorkshire Council.

Although the local Reform party did not publish a formal manifesto prior to the election, Councillor Murray noted that Scarborough Town Council would focus heavily on the town's harbours, keeping precepts low, and regenerating underutilised areas to bring pride back into the community.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service ahead of the annual meeting of the electors of Scarborough, the mayor acknowledged that many of their projects were still in their early stages of development.

Councillor Murray said:

"we don't have any responsibilities, as people say: we don't have public toilets, we don't have allotments, we didn't have Christmas lights last year, or anything like that."

Despite this lack of formal duties, he highlighted the successful establishment of a community grants scheme designed to support local organisations and charities, describing it as a massive success for the town council in its inaugural year.

Other key achievements highlighted by the mayor included raising public awareness regarding the state of disused allotments in the town and actively opposing North Yorkshire Council's purchase of a new office building located outside the town centre.

The town council has also been working closely with local harbour users to address their concerns. Over the past twelve months, the town council's harbour committee has held four scheduled meetings alongside a dedicated public forum meeting.

Financially, a one per cent reduction in the precept was passed by Reform councillors. This move successfully reduced the total precept collected from £384,000 down to £380,000.

Councillor Murray explained the council's overarching approach to local governance and financial management.

Councillor Murray said:

"We're really looking into what the town council does, and we want to do it right: it's respect for taxpayers, it's lean government, and it's doing things the way they're supposed to be done."

When questioned about what respect for taxpayers meant in the specific context of charging a precept without taking on statutory responsibilities, the mayor robustly defended the council's position.

Councillor Murray said:

"Why should residents pay their council tax for something that is currently North Yorkshire Council's statutory responsibility?

We want to take them on, we really do want to run the allotments, but we want to do it in a way that doesn't burden the taxpayers with that cost, and we have the Christmas lights factored into the budget, and then we also have a budget line for other responsibilities as well."

Regarding the possibility of taking on additional responsibilities and whether that would eventually lead to an increase in the precept paid by Scarborough residents, Councillor Murray stated that he wanted to keep the charges fair. He added that currently there was not a good enough reason to raise the precept.

A year ago, the mayor outlined that his main goal was to bring life back into Scarborough and to make people feel like the town council was genuinely working for them.

Reflecting on the town's historic assets, Councillor Murray described Scarborough Town Hall as one of the most underutilised aspects of the town. He confirmed he was actively pushing North Yorkshire Council to ensure the building is put to better use.

Summarising the first year of the new town council, he expressed confidence in their ongoing progress.

Councillor Murray said:

"We've been a local voice for the community and I do believe we are fulfilling that."