DETAILED plans for the redevelopment of Wentworth Street car park in Malton will be unveiled to the public next week.

A series of consultation days are to be held giving people the opportunity to view the designs for a new food store and petrol filling station The developers have said they are keen to hear the views of residents and retailers and are also distributing a leaflet to households in the area complete with a questionnaire.

‘The Wentworth Project’ is the first joint venture for Holbeck Land, a commercial property and development company based in Leeds, and GMI Construction, a building and construction services firm, who have come together as GMI Holbeck Land.

They have commissioned architects Panter Hudspith, who designed City Screen and Pitcher & Piano in York, and say their aim is to produce a contemporary design that is responsive to the urban context of Malton.

They say the project also needed to address the challenging topography of Wentworth Street car park, deliver increased car parking and a stronger connection to existing shopping.

Peter Gilman, chairman of GMI Construction, said its proposed plans offered an increase in parking for the town.

“Subject to consultation, available parking spaces are proposed to be increased from 380 spaces to close to 470.

“The council will retain the top end of the car park and this will mean that farming and livestock parking will remain catered for on market days.

“Overall, the car park will offer a combination of medium and long stay car parking with three hours’ free parking as well as long stay.”

Mr Gilman said they were also proposing to invest in a pedestrian route from the Wentworth Street through to the town centre, making the three-minute walk more pleasant with potential for better crossings, landscaping and more attractive footways.

He said: “For car users, the proposed foodstore development also includes a petrol filling station as part of its design concept.

“GMI Holbeck Land is keen to hear the views on this from the communities of Malton and Norton together with the surrounding villages.”

The consultation days will be held at the Milton Rooms, Malton, on Tuesday, 11am-7pm, and Wednesday, 11am-5pm.

Further consultation days will be held at the Stanley Harrison building in Norton on Friday, July 15, 11am-7pm, and Saturday, July 16, 11am-3pm.

A questionnaire can be completed at www.TheWentworthProject.com and people can email comments to malton@flymedia.uk.com


Debates, protests and petitions

THE whole debate over the future of Wentworth Street car park has generated hours of debate, protests and many column inches in the Gazette & Herald.

Ryedale District Council, which owns the site, voted to sell off part of the car park in November to raise money to develop leisure facilities and to create new jobs.

Critics argued that the sale would cause irreparable damage to the centre of Malton and feared the council would be seen to be ‘riding roughshod’ over already struggling businesses.

They organised a petition and march through the centre of Malton in protest at the sale.

However, those in favour argued the sale of the car park would enable millions of pounds to be spent on schemes which would benefit residents throughout Ryedale.

They said about £27 million is currently spent outside the area by residents shopping at York or Scarborough.

Ryedale District councillors voted 17 votes to nine to approve plans for the site.


Petrol sales key to site success

THERE could be a supermarket on Wentworth Street car park by 2013.

GMI Holbeck Land is currently working on a planning application to be submitted later this summer and if consent is granted by the end of the year, work would start on the site in early 2012.

As part of the ongoing work on the planning application, the company is consulting with local residents and retailers.

GMI Holbeck Land director Chris Gilman said they were excited at the challenge.

He said: “We are setting out to design the proposal which we believe is best for Malton and there is no other site in the town offering this potential.

“We consider that a site immediately accessible to the town centre would give a much more communitarian approach than an out-of-town store, with the added benefits of improved access, good links with the centre and the space to give shoppers and a supermarket operator the necessary car parking.”

Mr Gilman said the firm believed The Wentworth Project not only offered a store that would service the area and bring people and employment to the town, it would also provide substantial parking.

He said: “There will actually be an increase in the number of parking spaces from 370 to close to 470 and not just the three hours free, but long stay and parking for farm vehicles using the livestock market.”

Mr Gilman said they had talked to people in Malton and the surrounding area and been told that buying petrol causes a serious exodus of shoppers.

“When people go elsewhere to buy petrol at out-of-town superstores in York and Scarborough, they tend to do their weekly shop there too. It’s a fact of modern life, shoppers today want it all at their fingertips.

“The Wentworth Project plans include a petrol station offering fuel at competitive prices. This will keep shoppers in Malton and will attract shoppers from the villages.”

Mr Gilman said more than a third of retail spending by Ryedale’s residents was in York, Clifton Moor and Monks Cross. That represents more than £1 million lost to Malton shops a week, he said.

“Malton has lost ground to other towns over the years,” he added.

“The town’s position in the national retail rankings fell by more than 200 places between 2000 and 2009, The Wentworth Project is needed as a catalyst to turn this around.”

He said they were in discussions with all the major food retailers not currently repesented in Malton regarding an operator for the store.