Archive - Thursday, 13 June 2002


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Town manager: hit or miss?

WHAT has the town centre management process done for Malton and Norton and what will it accomplish in the years to come?

Town centre manger Mick Gains left this month at the end of his first year's contract and, later this summer, we will get a new manager, so we think it is appropriate to look at town centre management and ask pertinent questions.

We ask our questions not in a negative fashion, because from the outset, we have supported the idea of a town centre manager. But after nearly two years, firstly with Malcolm Scott and then with Mick Gains, we are not convinced that much has been accomplished and are not sure where it is going.

From the start, we assumed the town centre manager would be a sort of facilitator to work with local government and organisations to make the towns a better place in which to live and to improve the economy of the towns - to increase the spend by shoppers and tourists and to create more jobs.

We put a series of questions to the chairman of the town centre management company, Jason Fitzgerald-Smith, and to the company secretary, Denys Townsend, who also deals with the accounts.

In the first town centre management regime, a variety of meetings were held to seek wide support for the process and Emperor Vespasian was made the logo for the towns. In the second regime, there were a variety of meetings; advice and promotional support was given for some activities in the town; and a competition was held to give prizes to town traders.

The Town Centre Management Company Ltd is a private registered company. Company directors include Paul Beanland, Roddy Bushell (Fitzwilliam Estate) Jason Fitzgerald-Smith (chairman), Andrew Leeming (Ryedale District Council), Ross Lindsay (Hoppers), Coun Judith Orrell (Malton Town Council), Coun Stephen Shaw (Norton Town Council and Ryedale District Council), Denys Townsend (company secretary), David Luck (Countryside Agency).

The Malton and Norton Area Partnership manages a range of schemes under the Countryside Agency and Yorkshire Forward's Market Towns Initiative. The Malton and Norton Town Centre Manager scheme is part-funded by the partnership.

Updated: 09:35 Thursday, June 13, 2002