QUESTIONS have been raised about how well a new North Yorkshire County Council committee will engage with the public.

The new Thirsk and Malton constituency area committee, comprised of county councillors in the Parliamentary constituency area, replaces the Ryedale area committee and met for the first time in Hovingham last week.

The Ryedale area committee was seen as a means of both linking up district-level issues with the county authority and providing a way for citizens to publicly question their representatives.

Therefore the expansion of the committee area to include councillors in Hambleton and the Yorkshire coast was seen by some as a cause for concern for democratic involvement.

Cllr Lindsay Burr, Malton division, said she was worried that people might not be able to attend - particularly those relying on public transport.

But dissatisfaction was also expressed at the current format for public questions, which typically involve a written response from relevant county council officers - but no debate.

Cllr Greg White, from Pickering, said: “We’re setting ourselves up to fail with public questions. People go away feeling dissatisfied and disappointed. It’s important we manage expectations.”

He suggested that people be advised to go direct to their local members instead of to committee to ensure their issues are properly looked at.

His comments followed a public question earlier in the meeting from Ian Conlan, from Malton, who called for the council to implement 20mph zones around the Kirkham Henry Centre in Malton and Kirkbymoorside Primary School.

A written response from the authority said that since neither area had a sufficient number of recorded accidents recently, neither met the criteria for a reduced speed limit.

Daniel Harry, of the county’s democratic services and scrutiny department, said: “The public are often expecting more than they get, but what I would say that raising a public question does mean that it gets minuted and it gets published.”

The committee elected Cllr Caroline Goodrick as chairman and Cllr Keane Duncan as vice-chairman.

The committee also decided that future meetings will be held in Malton and Norton, as they are central to the area and will help to minimise travel for people coming from its far reaches.

Cllr Burr said that this will mean that local village halls will no longer be supported and used as venues, as they were by the Ryedale area committee.

The committee will meet four times a year, with the next meeting in September.