Your Councillors
Skipton Parish is divided into four Wards and four Councillors serve in each of those Wards.Details of each Councillor are shown in this section of the website, including details of any position(s) they hold on the Council.
Councillor can be contacted using these details:

North Ward
Four Councillors serve the North Ward of Skipton Town Council. They are:Councillor Tony BARRETT (Independent)
Chairman: Planning Committee
Councillor Claire NASH (Green)
Chairman: Management & Staffing Committee Committee
Councillor John DAWSON (Conservative)
Chairman: Audit & Scrutiny Committee
Councillor Sheila BENTLEY (Independent)
East Ward
Four Councillors serve the East Ward of Skipton Town Council. They are:
Councillor Richard JUDGE (Independent)
Councillor Darren SHAW (Independent)
Councillor Eric JAQUIN (Liberal Democrat)
Chairman: Public Services Committee
Councillor Winston FEATHER (Independent)
South Ward
Four Councillors serve the South Ward of Skipton Town Council. They are:Councillor Robert G HESELTINE (IndRPOS*)
Councillor Karen McINTYRE (IndRPOS*)
Town Mayor
Councillor Gordon BELL (IndRPOS*)
Councillor Andy SOLLOWAY (Independent)
* Independent Respecting & Protecting Our Skipton
West Ward
Four Councillors serve the West Ward of Skipton Town Council. They are:Councillor Peter MADELEY (Labour)
Deputy Leader of the Council
Chairman: Market Committee
Councillor Alan HICKMAN (Labour)
Leader of the Council
Councillor David PAINTER (Independent)
Councillor Ruksana MAHMOOD (Independent)
Members Register of Interests
All Members of Skipton Town Council are, by law, required to complete a register of their personal interests. This will include, generally, details of any employment or business activities, membership of any public bodies, clubs or organisations and the details of any property interests.The records are held by Craven District Council, but it is the responsibility of each individual Councillor to complete the register and to ensure that information is kept up-to-date.
Members have a period of 28 days from the date of signing their Declaration of Acceptance in which to submit their completed register of interests.
Subject to any GDPR regulations, copies of the completed forms will be available to view here in the near future.
Meetings of the Council
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the majority of Council Committee meetings are not currently taking place. Meetings of the Full Council are generally taking place 'virtually' via Zoom - and this practice is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Some of the information in this section, therefore, may not currently apply. If you have any questions about raising matters with the Council or about participating in Council meetings, please contact the office for advice.All meetings of Skipton Town Council are open to members of the public. This section gives you access to the agendas and minutes of meetings in the current civic year (which runs from the AGM, generally held in mid-May each year). Documents from the last civic year will shortly be archived into a separate section of the website.
Information is also provided in this section on attending a meeting, including your right to record, film or report on the meeting as it is taking place.
The agendas and minutes are listed in the appropriate section for each of the Council's committees. Further details about the work done by each Committee can be found in the Your Council section of this website.
Please note that dates and times can change and, occasionally, a meeting may be cancelled or rescheduled. Details will appear in the appropriate section when this happens:
Agendas are usually available approximately four working days ahead of each meeting
Minutes of meetings are produced in draft format as soon as possible following the meeting.
Please note that minutes are not regarded as a true and correct record until they have been accepted and approved at the following meeting of each Committee and subsequently by Full Council.
The draft minutes available on the website will not include any items which were dealt with in private session, with press and members of the public excluded.
Annual Town Meeting
The Annual Town Meeting is not actually a meeting of the Council itself, but a meeting of the electors of the Parish.Normally it must be held at least once per year, between April and June. In Skipton it is generally held immediately before the Annual Meeting of the Council and is an opportunity for local electors to raise issues with the Council.
If they wish to do so, electors can pass resolutions requesting that the Council takes certain actions. Although such resolutions are not legally binding on the Council, the will be considered carefully.
The meeting is normally chaired by the Town Mayor and will start with a short report on the Council's activities over the previous year.
Only those who appear on the register of electors for the Skipton Parish can vote on any resolution, although the meeting is open to anyone.
Additional Town Meetings may be called by the Town Council (although this is unlikely to happen as business relating to the Town will generally be dealt with at normal Town Council meetings).
There is provision, in law, for an additional Town Meeting to be called by a minimum of six local electors writing to the Council to request that a meeting takes place. However, electors and other members of the public have the right to attend and address any meeting of the Town Council and this is likely to be a better option in the vast majority of cases.
Full Council
The Annual Meeting of Skipton Town Council has been postponed until October 2020 as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.Meetings of Full Council for the 2020-2021 Civic Year are: 18th March 2021 and the 20th May 2021
Meetings are currently held using Zoom Video Conferencing.
All meetings of Full Council start at 7pm unless otherwise stated.
Meeting Agendas
Agendas are normally published approximately seven days ahead of each meeting.










Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes of each meeting are produced in draft format as soon as possible after the meeting. They remain as a draft until formally approved at the following meeting.













Finance and Policy
Meetings of the Finance and Policy Committee for the 2020-2021 Civic Year will be held on the following dates:Thursday 18th February 2021
Due to the period of National Mourning on the death of Prince Philip the Finance and Policy Committee has been delayed until 18:30pm on the 22nd April
All meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm, via Zoom - unless otherwise stated.
Meeting Agendas
Agendas are normally published approximately seven days ahead of each meeting.










Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes of each meeting are produced in draft format as soon as possible after the meeting. They remain as a draft until formally approved at the following meeting.









Audit and Scrutiny
Meetings of the Audit & Scrutiny Committee for the 2020-2021 Civic Year will be held on:Thursday 4th March
All meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm, via Zoom - unless otherwise stated.
Meeting Agendas
Agendas are normally published approximately seven days ahead of each meeting.









Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes of each meeting are produced in draft format as soon as possible after the meeting. They remain as a draft until formally approved at the following meeting.








Public Services
Meetings of the Public Services Committee for the 2019-2020 Civic Year will be held on:Thursday 4th February 2021
Extraordinary Meeting 25th March 2021
Thursday 29th April 2021
All meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm, via Zoom - unless otherwise stated.
Meeting Agendas
Agendas are normally published approximately seven days ahead of each meeting.








Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes of each meeting are produced in draft format as soon as possible after the meeting. They remain as a draft until formally approved at the following meeting.





Planning Committee
Scheduled meetings of the Planning Committee for the 2020-2021 Civic Year will be held on:Thursday 1st April 2021
Additional meetings may be called, as required, to discuss any large or contentious planning applications which may be submitted to the Planning Authority (Craven District Council) during the course of the year. Details of any additional meetings will be posted here as and when they arise.
Generally, meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm, via Zoom - unless otherwise stated.
The Council also operates a Working Group of Councillors to monitor routine planning applications. The Working Group is not classed as a formally constituted meeting of the Council and will meet on an ad-hoc basis. Please contact the office if you require any further information.
Meeting Agendas
Agendas are normally published approximately seven days ahead of each meeting.


Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes of each meeting are produced in draft format as soon as possible after the meeting. They remain as a draft until formally approved at the following meeting.




Events & Tourism Committee
Meetings of the Events & Tourism Committee for the 2021-2021 Civic Year will be held on:Thursday 11th March 2021
All meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm,via Zoom - unless otherwise stated.
Meeting Agendas
Agendas are normally published approximately seven days ahead of each meeting.









Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes of each meeting are produced in draft format as soon as possible after the meeting. They remain as a draft until formally approved at the following meeting.






Market Committee
Meetings of the Market Committee for the 2020-2021 Civic Year will be held on:Wednesday 17th February 2021
Wednesday 12th May 2021
All meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm, via Zoom - unless otherwise stated.
Meeting Agendas
Agendas are normally published approximately seven days ahead of each meeting.






Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes of each meeting are produced in draft format as soon as possible after the meeting. They remain as a draft until formally approved at the following meeting.





Attending a Council Meeting
All meetings of Skipton Town Council are open to the public. You may attend to watch the proceedings, or to address Members of the Council if you wish to do so. A section is included at the start of each meeting to allow the public to speak.New regulations now allow for the proceedings of any Council Meeting (or one of its Committees) to be recorded or filmed - or for the proceedings to be reported on as they are happening (via Facebook, Twitter or a Blog, for instance). A protocol has been approved by the Council to assist those wishing to make recordings etc.

Occasionally, there may be an item on the agenda which needs to be taken in private. This may be where the Council is considering, for example, a tender for a Council contract and needs to keep the value of any bids for the work confidential. Generally, private items are placed at the end of the agenda. The Chairman of the meeting will notify you if you need to leave the meeting. No recording, filming or reporting is allowed during any item taken in private.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND A COUNCIL MEETING REMOTELY PLEASE EMAIL admin@skiptontowncouncil.gov.uk for assistance.
There is no need to notify the Council if you wish to attend, although anyone wishing to record the proceedings of a meeting is requested to contact the Council in advance so we can ensure that facilities are available to help - and so we can make any members of the public aware, as they may not wish to be recorded.
The notice giving advance warning of the meeting will generally be issued around a week ahead of the date of the meeting itself. Agendas will appear on this website around four working days before the meeting.
Procedures at a Council Meeting
Each Council meeting operates to an agenda, issued in advance by the Council's Chief Officer. Each agenda is published in the appropriate section of this website. Copies are also available from the Council's offices on request.Although items can be removed from the agenda after it has been issued, no new items can be added. Members of the Council are only allowed to make decisions on items already listed on the agenda.
The first item at every meeting (except the Annual Meeting where the first item must be the election of the new Town Mayor) is known as 'Representations from the Public'.
This gives any member of the public the opportunity to talk to the Members of the Council or the Council Committee. You can make a statement, ask questions, or propose a matter for the Council to consider. You should note, however, that if the item is not on the agenda, the Council will not be able to discuss the matter and make any decisions - so the matter may be referred to the next meeting, or to a different Council Committee. Council Officers may also be requested to look into any issue raised by a member of the public.
If you do wish to address the meeting, it is always useful for the Council to know in advance - although there is no obligation to do so. Please contact the office if you do wish to speak at a meeting. Staff will also then be able to confirm the details of how to join the meeting, as meetings are currently held via Zoom due to COVID 19 restrictions.
You should note that, although the recording and filming of meetings is permitted, any member of the public has the right to request that they are not included in any recording. If you do not wish to be recorded, you should let the Chairman of the Meeting (or a Council Officer) know before the meeting starts. This way, we can ensure that no recording is made against your wishes.
No person under the age of 18 may be recorded or filmed without the permission of a parent/guardian.
The 'Public Participation' section of the meeting lasts for up to fifteen minutes, although this can be extended at the discretion of the Chairman. Individuals will only generally be allowed to speak for up to five minutes.
Once the 'Public Participation' section of the meeting has concluded, members of the public cannot take part in the remainder of the meeting, although they may remain to observe (other than those items being held in private).
At his discretion, the Chairman may bring forward item(s) on the agenda if they are connected to a matter raised by a member of the public.
Code of Conduct
Skipton Town Council has adopted a code of conduct for members. Please click below to view this policy: