Auction company given notice to quit market

Owners the Fitzwilliam Malton Estate announced that a notice was being served on Boulton & Cooper, which leases the site from the estate, but said the auctioneers will not be required to quit until the lease comes to an end in October 2013.

The estate said the step “paves the way for the buildings and yards to be redeveloped, enabling a future use of the site that will contribute fully towards a prosperous economic future for Malton town centre”.

Estate manager Roddy Bushell said: “The decision is no surprise to the auctioneers, as we have been clear with them for some time that the notice to quit for October 2013 would be served. This may also add clarity to the discussions aimed at a relocation of the market. That is a prospect we wish well, and will support any parties who have proposals for relocation of the market.”

The estate says it has taken the formal legal move to leave no doubt about its intentions in the impending appeal against the decision by Ryedale District Council to refuse its planning application for a mixed retail development on the site.

The appeal, before an inspector, is expected to last four days, with a decision likely up to two months later.

The Fitzwilliam Malton Estate is also pressing ahead with a claim for judicial review of the decision by Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles not to call in planning permission for a superstore on Wentworth Street car park.