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Councillors recommended to invite Bids for
Wentworth Street Car Park Redevelopment
Ryedale District Councillors are being recommended to invite
tenders for Malton’s Wentworth Street Car Park after market testing
showed strong interest in the site for redevelopment and continued
public car parking. The Council’s Policy and Resources Committee on
24 June is being asked to make a recommendation to Council (on 29
July) that seven named parties are now invited to submit tender
bids for the site.
Council approved a market testing exercise on 9 July 2009 and
this has shown a healthy market interest in purchase of the Car
Park and adjoining District Council-owned land for redevelopment,
in tandem with provision of a sizable car park to serve both the
development and the wider town centre. All the expressions of
interest received included proposals for supermarkets of different
scales and design, although almost all included some other forms of
development, such as housing, offices or other retail units.
Although these proposals are only indicative and the proposed
levels of parking vary, the majority of bids actually involve an
increase in the car parking numbers currently available at the site
- providing a good degree of confidence that car parking numbers
can be maintained or increased.
The sale would lead to a substantial receipt to boost the
Council’s capital programme at a time of increasing public sector
austerity. This could be used by Ryedale District Council to fund
beneficial projects, including regeneration and community projects
in Malton and Norton and across Ryedale. This approach is
consistent with the efficient use of Council assets and is in line
with asset management good practise. The expressions of interest
received suggest that the site could accommodate forms of
development that would strengthen Malton’s role as the rural
capital of Ryedale, however these and other planning issues would
be assessed through an entirely separate planning analysis of any
application submitted for this site. Any development of this land
must subsequently obtain planning permission and will thus be
subject to the full scrutiny of the Planning Committee under the
Council’s separate role of local planning authority. The planning
analysis would involve extensive public consultation in accordance
with requirements for major forms of development.
It is proposed that the Council follows a land sale as opposed
to procurement process and tenders for the land be submitted by 17
September 2010. Officers would assess these and recommend a
purchaser of the site to a special meeting of Council to be held
before the end of November 2010.