Campaigners take fight to London

A 2,000-signature petition from residents and traders in Malton and Norton against plans for a supermarket is being presented to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) by Denys Townsend, the chair of the Malton and Norton Business Action Group calling on Eric Pickles the secretary of state to “call in” the plans so that a decision can be made by a Government planning inspector.

Ryedale District Councillors voted last year to sell the town’s Wentworth Street car park, after seven companies expressed an interest in developing the site.

Mr Townsend said: “We are hoping that the secretary of state will take notice of what we are saying which reflects the views of a lot of people in Malton and Norton.

The Yorkshire Post revealed in September that more than 50 of the region’s oldest-established and prominent families, along with leading public figures and business people, had put their names to an open letter as part of the campaign, claiming independent traders will be driven out of business with the arrival of the new supermarket.