‘Decision needed’ on the future of Malton's Wentworth Street car park (From Gazette & Herald)

‘Decision needed’ on the future of Malton's Wentworth Street car park

3:15pm Wednesday 1st July 2009 in

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COUNCILLORS have agreed to explore the potential of Malton’s controversial Wentworth Street car park for development.

The decision by Ryedale District Council’s policy and resources committee came last Thursday night, despite legal moves by the Fitzwilliam Estate, saying the move would be “premature” before talks had been held between the council and the estate, which owns 80 per cent of the land and property in the market town.

But RDC’s solicitor, Anthony Winship, said the committee was acting as landowners and as such had no legal duty to consult any other landowners.

Coun Lindsay Burr told colleagues: “We have to look at this with an open mind. But we can’t deal with the car park in isolation.”

But she added she did not believe the idea of selling off part of the giant car park for a supermarket was the right plan for Malton.

“The infrastructure of Malton and Norton is not ready for another major development. We do need different shops in Malton, but not another big development,” she said.

She claimed it would be “suicide” to develop the park.

Coun Edward Legard believed that any development must be part of a wider strategy for the town, while Coun Marion Hodgson felt “another huge supermarket” could “decimate the whole town” and urged the council to go back to the drawing board and consult the public.

But chief executive Janet Waggott pointed out that major consultations had already taken place. Council chairman Coun Di Keal said the site needed to be viewed as part of the regeneration of Malton, and Coun Tony Hemesley, vice-chairman of the authority, said: “It’s time we stopped talking and did something about it.”

The leader of the council, Coun Keith Knaggs, said the issue over development in Malton had been on council agendas for 34 years. “We are still talking about it. People on both sides of the argument want us to make a decision,” he said.

Ryedale, he said, was “not priority” for investment by government and other agencies.

Coun Knaggs added: “We should not allow any other landowner to tell us what to do.”

The committee agreed to recommend the full council at its meeting on July 9 to seek expressions of interest for the purchase and redevelopment of either the whole or part of the car park, for use to include food retailing and “ substantial parking”.