Developer tries to win support

GMI Holbeck Land has commissioned award-winning architects Panter Hudspith to design and present plans for the development on the site of the Wentworth Street car park in Malton.

The firm has also recruited a retail specialist, Suzy Shepherd, to provide tailor-made marketing strategies for the town’s shop owners.

The architect’s designs will be showcased to the public at consultation events, the first of which will be staged in the town’s Milton Rooms on July 5 and 6.

A leaflet outlining the proposals is also being distributed to homes in the area.

A spokeswoman for GMI claimed that the moves were an attempt to dispel some of the “misinformation” surrounding the proposals for the car park.

Business leaders in the town have expressed grave fears that the arrival of a new food store will erode trade for the existing shops, as well as taking away valuable car parking space.

But the chairman of GMI Construction, Peter Gilman, claimed the number of parking spaces is actually due to increase from 380 spaces to nearly 470.

Despite the opposition, Ryedale District Council pushed ahead with the car park sell-off last summer in a deal that is expected to raise up to £5m.