A NORTH Yorkshire firm is planning for expansion after winning the contract to design a new centre for the treatment of injured jockeys.

Harrogate-based Townscape Architects has been selected to design a new £3.5m centre for injured jockeys on the edge of Malton.

Ryedale planners last week approved plans for Jack Berry House on Old Malton Road, which will allow the Injured Jockeys Fund to offer fitness and rehabilitation facilities to riders from the north of the UK.

Work is expected to start on the new building in October this year, with the centre expected to open in the autumn of 2014.

Townscape’s managing director Nick Silcock said: “We’re creating a new building but our key priority remains blending state-of-the-art contemporary design with the historic qualities of Malton - a beautiful and traditional Yorkshire market town.”

He said the new contract has allowed Townscape to plan for the future and the practice is currently looking to recruit additional staff.

“We now have the solid foundation we need for our expansion,” he said.

“We’ve not done badly over the last couple of years; the housing market may have been flat but more people have been looking to extend their properties rather than move house.”