Malton town centre to get cleaned up in time for Yorkshire Day (From Gazette & Herald)

Malton town centre to get cleaned up in time for Yorkshire Day

2:50pm Wednesday 1st July 2009

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THE CAMPAIGN to clean-up Malton’s streets, footpaths and eyesore corners before civic leaders from across the county arrive for the Yorkshire Day celebrations is gathering pace.

Mike Skehan, Malton’s town clerk, who recently labelled the town centre as “scruffy” told the council: “We are hoping for a significant clean-up of our streets, not just for Yorkshire Day on August 1, but for the long-term as well.”

He said the town authority was asking Ryedale District Council and North Yorkshire County Council what it could do to help and a meeting had been held between himself, the town mayor, Coun Jason Fitzgerald-Smith and the district council’s chief executive, Janet Waggott, which had been supportive of the campaign.

One area being targeted by the town council is Malton Museum where a barricade of metal fencing has been in place for 10 months as part of a redevelopment scheme.

Coun David Lloyd-Williams, who is also the museum chairman, said it was “sad” that the sheeting was not to be removed before the Yorkshire Day celebrations, but will instead be “camouflaged”.

He added that the roof had been described as being in a dangerous state 10 months ago and he believed the work should by now have been completed.

Coun Paul Andrews said he had taken up the issues of the barricades with officers and senior members of the district council, but added: “I have got nowhere.”

The council agreed to write to the district council expressing its concerns about the barricades after Mr Skehan said the delay in completing the museum restoration work and removal of the barricdes was “disgusting”.

However, he added: “It is a contractual issue which has gone to litigation.”

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