THE new chairman of North Yorkshire County Council has spoken out against plans to establish regional assemblies, which he said would give the county less power instead of more.

Councillor Clifford Wilson, who lives in Boroughbridge, was elected as the new chairman at the council's annual meeting.

Coun Wilson, who takes over from Coun David Ashton, told the meeting he was proud to represent the people of North Yorkshire.

He said: "It's a great honour to be elected chairman of North Yorkshire County Council, particularly given the current debate on regionalisation and local government.

"North Yorkshire County Council prides itself on providing good quality and efficient services and this might explain why there seems little interest in, or support for, the proposed changes.

"The existing structures have worked well for many years and I certainly look forward to serving the electorate, making a contribution to the work of the authority and helping ensure the council continues to deliver excellent services across the county."

The Regional Assemblies (preparations) Act received Royal Assent this month, paving the way for referendums in the English regions on whether to establish directly elected Regional Assemblies.

The regions to be included in the first wave of referendums will be announced shortly.

At yesterday's meeting councillors agreed to support the holding of a referendum at an appropriate time, but agreed that in light of the likelihood of a very low turnout, the Yorkshire and Humber Region should not be in the first round of referendums.

Council also agreed to support the continued existence and work of the County Council.

After the meeting Coun Wilson said regional government would not work for North Yorkshire and would just create another "tier of bureaucracy".

Updated: 10:30 Thursday, May 22, 2003