Reg Tayler is representing the Green Party for the High Harrogate ward in the Harrogate Town Council elections on 1 May 2025.
What’s your connection to Harrogate ?
I have lived in the Harrogate area for nearly 30 years having first moved here for family reasons. My wife and I chose to move into the town itself 8 years ago after I retired from work.
The role of the Harrogate Town Council isn’t fully defined, what would would you like to see a town council do ?
I understand that the powers of a Town Council are limited, but I would like to see local services come under local control as far as possible. The Town Council should build on the work of the Harrogate Town Planning Forum to create a local area plan. We should be looking after our parks and open spaces including the Stray, and our wonderful floral displays, for the benefit of residents and to maintain the appearance of the town.
We should act to preserve our Spa cultural heritage. We need to help promote tourism and support local businesses. We need to ensure that the streets and pavements are kept clean and tidy. In High Harrogate there is a need for play areas for children and youth facilities for teenagers – this would help reduce antisocial behaviour. We should work with North Yorkshire Council to promote active travel (walking, cycling) and improve bus services – if we could cut the use of cars for local journeys by 10%, that would alleviate traffic congestion considerably.
What do you see as the main challenges for the town council ?
The main challenges for the Town Council are to preserve as much as possible the special character of the town, to help it prosper, and to promote the town’s interests within North Yorkshire, all on a limited budget. This will require us to work collaboratively with local organisations and North Yorkshire Council. In particular, we will need to emphasise to North Yorkshire Council the importance of the conference centre to the town’s prosperity so that they continue to invest in its future.
What do you see as the main gains for the people of Harrogate ?
The main gain for the people of Harrogate is that they will have a person and an organisation locally to protect and defend their interests, working to solve local problems and to escalate them to North Yorkshire Council or their MP where necessary. A Green Party councillor also has the backing of an experienced group of councillors who share their expertise.
What else do you believe people should know about your party or what you believe ?
People should know that I have extensive experience of managing projects and delivering results. Consequently I understand the importance of working collaboratively with other people as a team to get things done.
Should a town councillor be voted for based on party or personality ?
Personality first – it is the person who is representing you and your ward on the council. Their party allegiance will inform their priorities but not define them.
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