"ON the whole, we have managed to deliver well", said the last ever leader of Craven District Council at yesterday's last meeting of the authority in Skipton Town Hall.

Councillor Richard Foster, leader of the Conservative group and chair of the council's policy committee, told fellow councillors, officers and members of the public on the authority's last but one day, he had enjoyed the 19 years he had served on the council.

The meeting of the full council saw statements from the leader, from the chairman, Simon Myers and the presentation of legacy awards and the appointments of honorary alderman and freedom of the district.

Today is the last day of the council, which has been in existence for 49 years; tomorrow it will be replaced by the new North Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Foster, who represents Grassington, said: "It is probably something I never wanted to do, making this speech, the last one of Craven District Council. It's been 19 years for me out of the 49 years of Craven District Council.

"We probably got a lot of things right, we got a few things wrong, but on the whole, I think we have managed to deliver well."

He said the council had faced challenges from the Government, from its communities, and also from itself as it had moved forward.

"I can list a whole list of projects, I think we are sat in one now," he said, referring to the refurbished town hall.

"The town hall had become an embarrassment to this council. We sat down with the officers and the councillors and we now have a building we can be proud of. We would not have had this meeting here a few years ago, we would have been too ashamed of it."

He said the council had had a lot of good officers over the years, many of who would move over to the new North Yorkshire Council.

A lot of hard work and effort had been put into making Craven a great place to live, and it was now the role of the new authority and its members to make sure it remained so.

He said: "There is a role for those who aren't coming with us to remind us of that. I will be ready for the phone call telling me 'you are doing this wrong, you are doing that wrong, and why don't you do this, and why don't you do that'.

"Thank you all officers and councillors and members of the public for looking after us over the years."

Cllr Andy Brown, leader of the Greens on the council, said members of all political persuasions had pulled together to make things work.

He said: "It is no secret I disagree with people on the other side of the room quite frequently, but, I think we have all worked very hard on focussing what is right for the people of Craven and when we have disagreed, we have put that behind us quickly, and we have done it with some style, rather than with aggression and bitterness, and I think a lot of that is down to the tone you (Richard Foster) has set.

"You have set a very good tone for Craven District Council. It is appreciated and I think a lot of the members opposite have been very good at working together quietly."

Look out for more reports and pictures of the last meeting of Craven District Council in the Craven Herald on Thursday, April 6.