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'Northallerton name should come first in boundary shake-up'

Northallerton High Street <i>(Image: Newsquest)</i>
Northallerton High Street (Image: Newsquest)

"Northallerton first" is being put forward as a proposed change to the Boundary Commission's shake up of constituencies across North Yorkshire.

Northallerton Town Council is supporting the idea that the name of the Richmond (Yorks) constituency of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP should be changed. The Boundary Commission is suggesting in its latest and final review that the name should be Richmond and Northallerton, giving fair weight to the county town of North Yorkshire.

However town councillors don’t think this goes far enough and are calling on the Boundary Commission to change the name to Northallerton and Richmond constituency.

They are also objecting to moves to take Bedale, Aiskew, Leeming Bar and West Tanfield out of the Richmond constituency and put it in with Thirsk and Malton.

Mayor councillor Phil Eames asked for backing from the town council for a letter to be sent as part of the Boundary Commission consultation asking that the name be changed to Northallerton and Richmond, rather than the current suggestion of Richmond and Northallerton.

The letter says: “Northallerton Town Council acknowledges that Richmond and Northallerton is an improvement to the name of the parliamentary constituency, but would prefer the new name to be Northallerton and Richmond: To recognise that Northallerton is the county town, as the Boundary Commissioners say in their reasoning; To recognise that Northallerton has by far the largest centre of population in the constituency; To reflect the importance of Northallerton as the seat of local government for North Yorkshire.”

Councillor Colin Hutson said: “We are the centre of local government, we are the county town, we are on the main railway line, we are much more central in the constituency and have the biggest population for many reasons our name should be first.”

Members agreed unanimously to call for the name change.

Councillor Paul Atkin said it seemed the changes had just been dreamed up by someone sitting in an office in London and they should support Bedale’s objections to being moved out of the Richmond constituency.

He added: “They are our closest neighbours, they have a closer relationship with us than with Thirsk and Malton constituency.

“I think it is unfair to cast them adrift, they should be kept with us. There are difficulties of travelling from Bedale to Thirsk, I can’t even think how you get there. It is much easier to go from Bedale to Northallerton.”

Councillor Andrew Hugill added: “There is no logic to the Boundary Commission, what they are trying to do to the constituencies doesn’t quite add up to the right figures, I don’t think it makes any sense."

Comments on the changes have to be put into the Boundary Commission by December 5, information is at https://www.bcereviews.org.uk/