CHANGES to a blueprint for Ryedale’s future could allow Malton’s Livestock Market to be redeveloped before an alternative site is found.

Ryedale District Council has proposed alterations to the Ryedale Plan – mapping out how the district will be developed up to 2027 – with a Government inspector now deciding whether it can be implemented.

The proposals, which were discussed by the Ryedale Strategic Partnership yesterday, include removing a previous requirement for the livestock market to be relocated before its current site is redeveloped. The town-centre site has been at the centre of a planning wrangle after the council last year rejected an application from the Fitzwilliam Malton Estate for a supermarket and other shops.

The estate appealed against the decision and a planning inspector ruled the scheme should be allowed and the council should reconsider its approval of controversial plans to develop Wentworth Street car park in Malton, part of which it wanted to sell for a possible superstore scheme. The estate’s legal teams has since lodged a £251,505 costs claim against the council, which will challenge it.

Other possible changes to the Ryedale Plan include allowing some housing for general sale on land where only affordable housing is normally permitted, if it helps provide low-cost homes. Planning bosses have also suggested removing blanket renewable energy targets and “sustainable building standards”, seeking the “highest feasible and viable standards” on a site-by-site basis instead.

Jill Thompson, the council’s forward planning manager, said the potential change over the livestock market was first discussed last September following concerns raised by the inspector. She said: “Essentially, he made it very clear he considered the requirement to be over-onerous and questioned the extent to which it was reasonable, and the council was asked to reconsider this as part of the examination process.

“The matter was debated and the inspector expressed his views before the outcome of the livestock market appeal was known. In effect, the appeal decision then confirmed the need for the plan to reflect that decision and the implications of it.”

The proposed changes will be included in the plan if the inspector’s final report – which the council hopes will be completed by the end of April – recommends this.