The Mayor of Whitby has said the town council is moving forward ‘positively’ into 2026 after a ‘difficult year’.
Cllr Sandra Turner, the Mayor of Whitby, has said the authority is looking forward to a positive year, which is set to include working on major projects, including the Old Town Hall.
Whitby Town Council has also recruited a new town clerk, due to start later this month, which Mayor Turner said means “we’ll be back to full complement staff-wise and hopefully that will bring around some positive moves”.
”It’s been a difficult year in 2025, so we’re hoping to move forward positively in 2026,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
The town council will be facing financial challenges, alongside many authorities across the country, but a top priority will be “keeping any increases in precept as low as physically possible, because we don’t want to put any additional burdens on residents”.
Last year, councillors agreed on a 4.87 per cent precept increase which aimed to generate £389,000 of revenue and add £16,000 to reserves.
Mayor Turner said she would like WTC to be “a lot closer” to North Yorkshire Council which was created in 2023, while adding that NYC was “very supportive” when contacted.
“I think that they’re still going through a very difficult transition period, which seems to be lasting a little longer than one would have hoped.
“But they are responsive, and if I get in touch with them, they’re very good.”
“Obviously, they have their challenges, financial being the utmost one, and that has a knock-on effect on every council that comes under the new unitary authority.”
Whitby Town Council is involved in several ongoing projects, including a proposal to take over the historic Old Town Hall.
Mayor Turner said:
“We have to look at that in depth because we’ve got to be mindful that we can’t afford to take anything that will require substantial financial support – it’s got to be self-sustainable if we were to take it on.”
She added that further discussions and decisions would take place once the new town clerk is in place and the authority has a more detailed picture of its finances.
“I’m really reiterating the fact that we can hopefully move on much sooner once we’ve got our full complement of staff back,” the mayor noted.
Cllr Turner added: “We do have a challenging year ahead of us, but hopefully, if we all work together, we can bring something positive for 2026.”
The next full meeting of Whitby Town Council is scheduled for Thursday, January 8, and members of the public are invited to attend.
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