Councillor grilled on park meetings record

A senior councillor could face disciplinary action over his poor attendance at finance meetings of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA).

Councillor Simon Myers, who is North Yorkshire Council's executive member for culture, arts and housing, is also a member of the YDNPA.

He said he missed three YDNPA meetings in 2024 because they clashed with meetings of the council's executive, which he was obliged to attend.

Members of the YDNPA will decide what steps to take over the non-attendance at a full authority meeting on 25 March.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service Myers, who represents Mid Craven on the Conservative-led local authority, last attended a meeting of the YDNPA finance and resources committee in March 2024.

Since then the councillor - who received the authority's basic allowance of £3,665 in 2023/24 - missed meetings in May, October and December last year.

On Tuesday, YDNPA members will be asked to decide whether to take any action against him and whether to notify the council, which appointed him to the park authority.

YDNPA executive David Butterworth said in a report to members that the standing orders required him to bring the issue to the appointing body, unless the authority was "satisfied that circumstances do not warrant that course of action".

He said Myers had told him that as a member of the council executive, who hold their meetings on Tuesday mornings, this had "clashed with the finance and resources committee meetings, which are also held on Tuesday mornings".

"Therefore, he has faced difficulties in attending those meetings to meet his current council commitments," he said.

Mr Butterworth added Myers was "keen to continue to carry out his role as a full member of the authority" and pointed out finance and resources committee dates only clashed on one date in 2025, which would allow him to participate in three of four forthcoming meetings.

Speaking about the potential disciplinary action, Myers said: "Those are the rules. I've missed three meetings on the trot. I'll have to make it work providing they don't sack me."

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