PEOPLE are being urged to help with a consultation exercise to determine a town's future.

Ryedale District Council is creating a planning framework to help govern future development in Malton.

To help it, the council wants to hear what people living in the town feel about the future of ten sites.

The sites identified are: the livestock market area; the market place; Wentworth Street car park; Old Maltongate; Wheelgate; Greengate; Pasture Lane; Highfield Lane; the former Mount Hotel and York House.

The consultation exercise will allow the council to outline possible changes it proposes to the sites and to gauge public reaction.

Julian Rudd, the council's forward planning and economic development manager, said: "Essentially, it's being driven by the need to produce a new planning strategy for Ryedale.

"That strategy will be used as a base for any future development in Malton up to 2021.

"One area we are trying to tackle is the high leakage of people to places like York and Scarborough to shop.

"You would expect some leakage as they are bigger places, but the rate is higher than we would expect it to be.

"One thing we are trying to do is provide better shopping facilities to reduce the need for people to go elsewhere.

"So we want as many people as possible to come and have a look at the proposals and to tell us what they think."

The consultation will also focus on other key areas, such as housing and employment.

It follows a similar council consultation in June at which 200 people gave their thoughts on the town centre.

The final study will help to guide the council's policy through the authority's Local Development Framework.

Two days of consultation will take place in the former Dodsworth's carpet store, in the market place, from 3pm to 8pm on Friday, August 31, and from 9am to 3pm on Saturday, September 1