A YORK council chief says “we don't want to lose the things that make York special” when it comes to devolution.

The chief operating officer at City of York Council Ian Floyd said that the authority feels that creating two new councils in North Yorkshire could also lead to disruption.

Mr Floyd, who came into the role last year, was speaking at a meeting of City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council discussing Local Government re-organisation and said that the history of York could be affected by the local Government re-organisation.

"York is a fantastic tourist destination with a history that goes back many years,” said Mr Floyd, “We don't want to lose the things that make York special and we do not want to lose our identity. It is a recognised international city.

"We are concerned that a split could cause huge disruption."

North Yorkshire County Council's proposal is for a new single council that will unite the whole county and provide a strong, powerful voice in the North. This new authority will then work in close partnership with the City of York Council, which gives "full backing," to this deal.

Six of the seven district and borough councils in North Yorkshire are proposing to create two new councils across North Yorkshire and York which would split the county in half -  East North Yorkshire and West North Yorkshire.

  • Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby and York in the east
  • Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate and Richmondshire in the west

However, City of York Council has overwhelmingly said no to these proposals and has set out its case for remaining a unitary on the existing footprint.

York has provided evidence to Government of the significant detrimental impacts of a merger in terms of eroding local decision making, disrupting key services at a time when they are needed most and breaking the 800 year historical connection between the Lord Mayor and the city.