THE 30-year campaign to build a new sports and leisure centre cleared a hurdle last night when councillors gave initial approval for it to be built in the grounds of Malton School.

And in an eleventh hour move, officials gave their backing to making the building environmentally friendly and to take into consideration carbon emissions as a result of the sports facility.

The scheme had been opposed by neighbours because of its siting close to their houses, and other residents were concerned about light pollution and noise from the floodlit sports pitch.

But to meet the concerns of the local community, architects have moved the building 60ft away from neighbouring properties and they have been told that the outside pitch will close at 9pm every day.

The centre will cover a site of 2.76 hectares of land between the school buildings and the Malton to Helmsley road, from which there would be access.

Planning office Paul Simpson told the council's planning committee that there was a need for such a centre in the Malton area and the council had a policy of encouraging better facilities for use by the community. He told the meeting that he had been flooded with letters both for and against the project.

He said: "The Highways Agency has considered this application in terms of access and of road safety and they can raise no objection on both these points."

In his report to the committee he revealed that Ryedale District Council had carried out research which revealed that around half of those questioned favoured the Malton School site, above other proposed sites in Old Malton Road and the former Yorkshire Woolgrowers site.

Consultants had told the council that they believed the Malton School site was the best because it had good access from Broughton Road and was able to shoulder the burden of the development including parking and an increase in traffic.

A meeting has been scheduled for March 29, when councillors will discuss granting approval to funding the project. If members give their support to the new facility in Malton it will boast four sports courts, a hall, climbing wall, fitness suite, multi-purpose room and artificial floodlit pitch, all of which would be available for both students at Malton School and the community.

Plans to convert a former photographic studio into a teashop and hot food takeaway have been turned down by planners. Residents in Hovingham had urged councillors to refuse the application by McConnell Thomas to change Park Street Studios into a tea shop, hot food takeaway and a partretail outlet, raising concerns about the amount of traffic it would create and saying the development was unsuitable for the village.