Your Councillors
Elections for Skipton Town Council take place every FOUR years.The most recent took place on 7th May 2015 to elect sixteen Councillors to serve on the Council for a period of four years to May 2019.
Skipton Parish is divided into four Wards and four Councillors serve in each of those Wards.
Contact details for each of the Councillors are shown below, together with details of any positions they hold on the Council.

North Ward
Four Councillors serve the North Ward of Skipton Town Council. They are:Councillor Paul WHITAKER (Conservative)
2 St Stephens Mews, SKIPTON, BD23 1RB
(01756) 709531
Councillor John DAWSON (Conservative)
Chairman Public Services Committee
42 Gainsborough Court, SKIPTON, BD23 1QG
(01756) 700151
Councillor Jonathan KERR (Conservative)
Chairman Events & Tourism Committee
10 Bell Busk, SKIPTON, BD23 4DT
(07766) 245440
Councillor Anthony BARRETT (Independent)
Vice Chairman Events & Tourism Committee
Contact details to follow. For further information please contact the Council's offices on (01756) 700553.
East Ward
Four Councillors serve the East Ward of Skipton Town Council. They are:
Councillor Pamela HESELTINE (Conservative)
10 Nelson Street, SKIPTON, BD23 2DT
(01756) 700165
Councillor Eric JAQUIN (Liberal Democrat)
Chairman Planning Committee
11 Grassington Road, SKIPTON, BD23 1LL
(01756) 799684
Councillor Chris HARBRON (Conservative)
10 Nelson Street, SKIPTON, BD23 2DT
(07825) 987757
Councillor Wendy CLARK (Conservative)
Vice-Chairman Audit & Scrutiny Committee
28, Regent Crescent, SKIPTON, BD23 2HR
(01756) 798077
South Ward
Four Councillors serve the South Ward of Skipton Town Council. They are:Councillor Robert G HESELTINE (Independent)
The Ginnel Place, Newmarket Street, SKIPTON, BD23 2JB
(01756) 701243
Councillor Karen McINTYRE (Independent)
Shadow Leader of the Council;
Vice-Chairman Finance & Policy Committee;
Vice-Chairman Public Services Committee
52 Roughaw Road, SKIPTON, BD23 2QA
(01756) 797588
Councillor Martin EMMERSON (Independent)
4 Greatwood Avenue, SKIPTON, BD23 2RU
(01756) 701304
Councillor Gordon BELL (Independent)
Chairman Audit & Scrutiny Committee
39 Western Road, SKIPTON, BD23 2RU
(01756) 790155
West Ward
Four Councillors serve the West Ward of Skipton Town Council. They are:Councillor Christopher CLARK (Conservative)
Leader of the Council
Chairman Finance & Policy Committee
3 Crossley Place, SKIPTON, BD23 1PZ
(07967) 307936
Councillor Andrew RANKINE (Independent)
44 Rombalds Drive, SKIPTON, BD23 2SP
(01756) 700848
Councillor Peter MADELEY (Labour)
Deputy Town Mayor;
Deputy Leader of the Council;
Chairman Market Committee
17 Alexandra Court, SKIPTON, BD23 2RG
(01756) 797951
Councillor Alan HICKMAN (Labour)
Town Mayor and Chairman of the Council
1 The Farm, Keighley Road, SKIPTON, BD23 2QT
(01756) 700565
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 maintained 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.
Copies of the Members Registers will be available to view on this website in the near future - but can be viewed on request at the Town Council's offices .
Meetings of the Council
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.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.
The next Town Meeting will be on Thursday 16th May 2019
Full Council
Meetings of Full Council for the 2018-2019 Civic Year are scheduled for the following dates:Thursday 28th June 2018 (Approval of Annual Return [AGAR])
Thursday 19th July 2018
Thursday 13th September 2018
Thursday 15th November 2018
Thursday 17th January 2019 (Budget & Precept Setting)
Thursday 14th March 2019
Thursday 16th May 2019 (Annual Meeting)
Meetings will normally be held in the COUNCIL CHAMBER at SKIPTON TOWN HALL, High Street, Skipton, BD23 1FD
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 2018-2019 Civic Year will be held on the following dates:Thursday 14th June 2018
Thursday 16th August 2018
Thursday 18th October 2018
Thursday 13th December 2018 (Budget Proposals)
Thursday 14th February 2019
Thursday 18th April 2019
All meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm, in the meeting room at the Town Council offices in Skipton Town Hall - 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 2018-2019 Civic Year will be held on:Thursday 21st June 2018
Thursday 27th September 2018
Thursday 20th December 2018
Thursday 28th March 2019
All meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm, in the meeting room at the Town Council offices in Skipton Town Hall - 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 2018-2019 Civic Year will be held on:Thursday 31st May 2018
Thursday 30th August 2018
Thursday 29th November 2018 (Budget Proposals)
Thursday 28th February 2019
All meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm, in the meeting room at the Town Council offices in Skipton Town Hall - 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 2018-2019 Civic Year will be held on:Thursday 24th May 2018
Thursday 22nd November 2018
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, in the meeting room at the Town Council offices in Skipton Town Hall - 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 2018-2019 Civic Year will be held on:Thursday 12th July 2018
Thursday 4th October 2018 (Budget Proposals)
Thursday 10th January 2019
Thursday 11th April 2019
All meetings will be held, starting at 6.30pm, in the meeting room at the Town Council offices in Skipton Town Hall - 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 2018-2019 Civic Year will be held on:Wednesday 8th August 2018
Wednesday 7th November 2018
Wednesday 6th February 2019
Wednesday 8th May 2019
All meetings will be held, starting at 5.30pm, in the meeting room at the Town Council offices in Skipton Town Hall - 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.
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 time and location of the meeting with you.
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.
Council Services
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Councillors & Meetings
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