LOCAL government in Ryedale faces its biggest shake-up for 30 years in plans announced this week.

The Government's boundary committee has put forward four options following widespread consultation over the last few months.

Next year, people in the Yorkshire and Humber region will be asked to take part in a referendum on whether they want an elected regional assembly.

If the answer is "Yes", central Government will take away a layer of existing local government. In North Yorkshire, that would mean abolishing the existing county council and seven district councils, including Ryedale, and setting up one or more new authorities that combine their roles.

The boundary committee's four options are:

one authority for the whole of North Yorkshire;

three separate unitary authorities based on pairings between Ryedale and Scarborough; Craven and Harrogate; Richmondshire and Hambleton;

a two-way split joining Craven with Harrogate; and Ryedale, Hambleton, Richmondshire and Scarborough into a North Riding of Yorkshire Authority;

a two-way split joining Craven, Harrogate and Richmondshire into a Yorkshire Dales Council, and Ryedale, Scarborough and Hambleton into a North York Moors Authority.

City of York Council would remain as it is, while Selby would link with the East Riding of Yorkshire in all options which divide the county.

Speaking for Ryedale District Council (RDC), Coun Robert Wainwright, chairman of its policy and resources committee, said: "RDC will now be discussing the options put forward by the boundary committee. I am sure that all Ryedale councillors will have an opinion on them. It is important that we are able to respond to the proposal when the further information required by the boundary committee becomes available."

Scarborough council leader Eileen Bosomworth said: "One authority for North Yorkshire, 100 miles wide, is not the right local choice. The people of North Yorkshire deserve better than that. They need local representation and local services. They want to pay bills, talk to officers and look at plans without travelling a day to do it."

She added: "Imagine an officer based in Northallerton wanting to talk to people in Whitby, Ingleton and Tadcaster - he would need three days out of the office to do it. That represents neither value for money nor does it meet local needs. Decision-making needs to be local and respect the variety of communities as distinct as Skipton from Scarborough, or Harrogate from Hawes."

The six councils of Scarborough, Ryedale, Hambleton, Craven, Harrogate and Richmondshire have already recommended the three-pairings option to the boundary committee.

County Coun Murray Naylor, deputy leader of North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC), and representative for the Rillington area, said he was delighted that the county council operating as a unitary authority had been included in the list of options. "It is a real runner and we are well able to deliver," he said.

Coun Naylor believes the county option would be the cheapest and be the least disruptive to local authority services.

NYCC already provides 85pc of services in North Yorkshire, he says, and he is confident that a "strategic macro basis" is the best for such services as education, social services and highways. Smaller units would be less efficient, he said.

There was also an issue of identity, he said. "North Yorkshire is a county of real heritage and history. Do people want to throw that away in favour of small unitary councils with new names?"

In addition, a unitary North Yorkshire council would have a stronger voice if the proposed Yorkshire and Humber Assembly becomes a reality, enabling it to speak up effectively for the county alongside the unitary authorities covering South and West Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and the Humber area.

"But we now have to prove our case to the public, which we shall be doing in the next few weeks," said Coun Naylor.

The final options which will be included on the regional assembly referendum ballot paper will be made public in May.

The public is asked to send views to: Local Government Review Team Yorkshire and the Humber, Boundary Committee for England, Trevelyan House, Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2HW; or e-mail: lgr@boundarycommittee.org.uk; (020) 7271 0500; fax (020) 7271 9528.

Updated: 11:06 Wednesday, December 03, 2003