A CONTROVERSIAL decision by Ryedale District Council to allow a supermarket to be built on one of its own car parks will stand after the Secretary of State decided not to review the case.

The Department of Communities and Local Government has written to the authority to confirm the inspector would not be calling in the planning application for a supermarket on Malton’s Wentworth Street car park.

The letter states the decision should stay at the local level, meaning the council’s decision to allow the application can stand.

The supermarket plans were approved in May, despite opposition from Totally Locally groups for Malton and Norton, the Malton and Norton Chamber of Trade and Fitzwilliam (Malton) Estate - who also have consent for a food store to be built on the redeveloped livestock market site.

The Estate asked the Secretary of State to review the council’s decision, but the council has received confirmation that there will be no “call-in”, which the Estate say will damage Malton’s town centre.

Estate agent Roddy Bushell said: “Many people in Malton will be confused and appalled that the Secretary of State – after a lengthy and unexplained delay – has chosen to do absolutely nothing about the obviously defective planning procedure by which Ryedale District council has granted permission for a superstore on its own car park.

“By requiring an independent scrutiny of the proposal, he could have given this community its only opportunity to test the convenient evidence on which it relied. The council’s plans ignore the Government’s own ‘town centre first’ policy. In washing his hands of the matter, The Secretary of State says he has relied on another Government policy which states that planning decisions should be taken locally. For Malton, this policy has not merely failed, but has worked against its intentions.”

The Estate will continue to take legal advice and review options, Mr Bushell added.

But Ryedale council’s solicitor, Anthony Winship, said the planning applications were properly considered at the council’s Planning Committee meeting on April 24 , “having due regard to all material planning considerations and dealt with in accordance with planning legislation and planning policy at both the national and local level.”

After receiving the letter, the council issued the decision notice for the proposed supermarket on Friday, he added.