New twist in wrangle over Malton car park proposal (From Gazette & Herald)

New twist in wrangle over Wentworth Street car park proposal

11:59am Wednesday 1st August 2012 in News By David Jeffels

THE wrangle over the planned supermarket at Wentworth Street car park in Malton has taken a new turn.

Fitzwilliam (Malton) Estate has said that the planning battle is far from over and will continue to fight against the decisions to refuse the proposed redevelopment of the town’s livestock market while giving the go-ahead for the store in Wentworth Street.

Estate manager, Roddy Bushell, said: “The estate recognises that there is no-one else to continue the battle for the thousands of people who had made plain their wishes over both applications, and who felt deprived by a planning committee with a pre-conceived agenda.

“An obvious conflict of interest made a mockery of the democratic process.

“We regard the future of Malton as too important to be a plaything of political and financial machinations.

“The Estate will therefore be exploring all legal remedies to reverse the damage to Malton that we believe will result from these perverse and wrongful decisions.”

Mr Bushell said Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, had been served with a notice of a claim for judicial review of his decision not to call-in the planning permission for the Wentworth Street store.

“This provides the incentive for his decision to be reconsidered, failing which legal action may follow,” he said.

Mr Bushell said that in addition the Estate is preparing proofs of evidence for a planning appeal on the refusal of the livestock market development which is set for hearing on September 11 and 12.

“Further information will follow. Meanwhile, the people of Malton, its traders and businesses, its town council and all those who fear for its future prosperity and unique character, can take heart that the planning battle is not over,” he added.

At Malton Town Council’s monthly meeting, Coun David Lloyd-Williams said the Estate’s move was to be welcomed as “an agreeable way forward on the impasse caused by Mr Pickles’s decision”.

Coun Paul Andrews said that three public inquiries were likely to be held at the same time in September – on Ryedale District Council’s Local Plan for the next 15 years, the Malton livestock scheme and a possible judicial inquiry into the call-in on the district council’s scheme for Wentworth Street car park.

He said that if, following the legal action, the car park plan was called in, the cattle market inquiry should be deferred until after the Local Plan inquiry result is known.