ONE of North Yorkshire’s district councils could be about to move from its home of 43 years - in an effort to deliver long-term savings.

It would involve Ryedale District Council leaving its current headquarters in Malton to move elsewhere in the town.

Sharing accommodation with other public organisations, it would create a community hub to make it easier for organisations to work together and to save cash.

The council’s HQ building, Ryedale House, was opened in 1974 when the authority was established. It was formally opened by the late Princess Margaret.

Council officers are now working on a business case to look at the possibility of sharing a site with other organisations, with the ambition that it would be on the site of the current Community House in Malton.

The authority believes Ryedale House no longer meets the needs of an organisation that works very differently to when the building first opened and maintenance costs at the site are becoming an increasing burden.

The chairman of the council’s policy and resources committee, Cllr Luke Ives, said: “We’ve set out a bold ambition for how we can change the way we use our buildings to support public services across Ryedale.

“By working with others we want to help deliver savings across the board and make it easier for organisations to work together – this will help to deliver better services in the long-run, more cost-effectively.”

Work to develop the business case will include gathering the views of people in the area on how they would prefer to access public services in future, from the district council and others such as county council.

Ryedale’s interim chief executive, Clare Slater, said: "The first stage is about looking at options and finding out from potential partners whether the creation of a new community hub could help them deliver their services too.

“This is a big and ambitious piece of work, with the ultimate goal of making sure that we can support the council's services and those delivered by our key public sector and community partners, in the long run."

Alongside the work to create a single community hub other options will also be considered, including the redevelopment of Harrison House, a landmark building near Malton Station owned by the district council.

The decision on the future location of the council offices will be made in February.