Don’t sell the family silver

10:06am Wednesday 23rd April 2008

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THE Gazette & Herald makes no excuse for launching another campaign on car parking this week. Our previous campaign, Drive Down Parking Charges, in association with the Car Park Action Group, eventually contributed to a year-long trial at Wentworth Street in Malton, where the cost of all-day parking was slashed.

Ryedale District Council subsequently deemed the trial a failure and claimed it had resulted in a loss in revenue, although campaigners disputed this.

So Wentworth Street went back to the same charges as other Ryedale car parks, and is underused, despite being only a few minutes' walk from the town centre.

Now there appears to be a desire within the council to sell it off for development, with a large supermarket seemingly favourite.

On the face of it, it may look like good business, but there is no doubt that the car park will be needed in the future. Hundreds of new homes are set to be built in Malton and Norton. Coupled with this, there are a number of initiatives, including the redevelopment of the cattle market site, designed to encourage people to visit and shop in Malton. Where will all these people park if Wentworth Street is sold off? And does Malton really need another big supermarket which will further damage town centre trade?

It's time to polish the family silver by making more of it, rather than selling it off for a quick profit.