Council reserves set to cover appeal costs (From Gazette & Herald)

Council reserves set to cover Malton cattle market plan appeal costs

11:28am Wednesday 6th February 2013 in News

COUNCIL bosses in Ryedale say they will probably have to dip into its reserves to pay bills caused by the controversy over a Malton development.

Ryedale District Council rejected the Fitzwilliam Malton Estate’s proposals for a supermarket and other shops on the site of Malton cattle market last year, but the decision was subsequently overturned by a planning inspector and partial costs were awarded against the authority.

The inspector also said the council should reconsider its decision to approve a £5 million supermarket plan for Wentworth Street car park, after it agreed in principle to sell part of the land.

The Fitzwilliam appeal has already cost the council £10,325 in legal costs and £30,229 in professional fees, and the Estate’s solicitors are claiming £251,505 costs from the council.

In a new financial report for 2013/14, the council’s corporate director Paul Cresswell, said the “exact value” of the estate’s claim should be agreed in the next year and councillors will be given options about how to foot the bill. He said it was likely that the council’s reserves – which in March 2012 included £4,377,000 ‘usable reserves’ – would be used.

Mr Cresswell’s report, which will go before the policy and resources committee this week, also said the final cost of the A64 improvements at Brambling Fields, which were severely delayed by bad weather, was set to be above budget.