A NEW community safety team could be launched in Hambleton within months, it has been announced.

Hambleton District Council this week agreed to invest £20,000 in a proposed Safer Hambleton Team to continue the work of the area’s current Community Safety Partnership – which includes local authorities, emergency services, probation and clinical commissioning groups – as it prepares to merge into a wider scheme.

Last month, North Yorkshire Police announced that under a new operational model, the six CSPs in Selby, Harrogate, Crave, Hambleton and Richmondshire, and Scarborough and Ryedale, would merge into a single, district-wide partnership, working together under Assistant Chief Constable Paul Kennedy from the end of September.

Council Leader Mark Robson said: “We believe that Hambleton needs to push forward with this good work on its own and keep its communities safe.

“A return to a Hambleton-only model, similar to those in Harrogate, Selby, Craven, Ryedale and Scarborough, will provide a greater focus on the key issues for Hambleton.”

The partnerships were set up to work with and protect communities from crime, help them feel safer, deal with local issues.

The council is now seeking the views of the other partners within the scheme, before the team can go forward.