THE front page article entitled “New site to create 600 jobs”, which appeared in the Gazette & Herald on June 6, brought some welcome news.

Work is to begin on the Eden Business Park and from February 2019 the first of a promised 600 jobs should be coming on stream.

The jobs would appear to be in a mixture of industrial and office developments which, according to Miles Lawrence of the York-based property consultants Lawrence Hannah, “could provide much-needed accommodation for food processing, food distribution and farm related enterprises”.

Sited, as it is, just off the A64 Malton by-pass, adjacent to the A169 and at the heart of a large agricultural community this should be good news.

However, I seem to recall that when this development was first mooted the major reason for it was to relocate Malton’s cattle market which would then allow for a redevelopment of that site.

It would be interesting to know if “speculative development” was in the minds of those who authorised the grant of £2.1 million of public money for the necessary infrastructure.

Approximately eight months ago, when I inquired through a letter in the Gazette about the progress of

this move, Pat Foxton, the chairman of Malton and Ryedale Farmers Livestock Market Company Limited, was good enough to respond and stated that £1.25 million of the £2 million needed to build the new livestock centre had been raised, with £750,000 still required.

I am sure I am not alone in wondering how near the new livestock centre is to becoming a reality, particularly as the only mention of it in the article came in the very last sentence when it was stated that the site “includes land for relocating Malton’s livestock market”.

I would welcome an update from Mr Foxton and perhaps some comment from those who are waiting to put their plans for the redevelopment of a large part of Malton into action.

Richard Young, Wrelton

Lack of action on A64 is a disgrace

I WOULD like to inform readers that there are STILL no signs to warn motorists on the A64 about pedestrians crossing at Welburn and Crambeck.

This is an absolute disgrace; especially considering the calls for action made in January by coroner Michael Oakley following an inquest into the tragic deaths of four people (in two separate incidents) from crossing over from the bus stops within a matter of weeks of each other in 2017.

Mr Oakley said locals took their “lives into their own hands” and was very forthright in saying action was needed; saying a pedestrian bridge would be the best solution.

Goodness knows how much money has been spent on ‘road improvements’ just a mile down the road at Barton Hill.

It is a slur on the memory of those who have died at Welburn and Crambeck that nobody has been bothered to pop along and put so much as a warning sign up.

My daughter crosses the road here to catch her bus into college in York.

As I will continue to say for as long as it takes, if it was a child of any of our county councillors, police or highways executives trying to cross here action would have been taken immediately.

They should all hang their heads in shame.

Sarah Lyon, Welburn

Who counted the 30,000 at festival?

YOUR headline “30,000 crowd for 10th festival” (Gazette & Herald, May 31) must surely be expected to be taken with a grain of salt, lest one must be obliged to wonder who was he who did the count?

Genius abounds.

Alfred Skinner, Welham