Hambleton councillors have overruled officials by making recommendations to further help local market towns.

The district council's environment and economy scrutiny committee is urging the council cabinet to establish a £50,000 improvement fund for each market town.

It would act in support of regeneration projects identified in Bedale, Thirsk, Easingwold, Stokesley and Northallerton under the Community Investment Prospectus (CIP) and encourage working with other partners.

The committee is also recommending a review of the Hambleton street cleaning service, including the method of delivery.

The recommendations had been resisted by a management team of chief officers because they wanted a special improvement fund to be deferred.

They wanted to wait until CIP action plans were available in all the market towns and because a review of street cleaning was already under way.

However, the senior officers did endorse four other recommendations from the committee, which has spent four months investigating the viability of Hambleton's market towns, especially Bedale.

Councillors on the committee said the rules of the existing economic development fund should be changed.

They want it to include town centre commercial property as well as industrial sites - with empty shops and offices being bought, renovated and sold on and the proceeds then being returned to the fund.

The committee members also felt there should be more rigorous use of enforcement powers in dealing with buildings and areas in disrepair.

And they also want planning rules governing town centres to be changed so they are not too restrictive.

The committee is also now calling for a more co-ordinated approach to be developed to promote the market towns, which at Bedale could include signs on the A1 and a more centrally-placed tourist information centre.

Their recommendations will now be considered by the council's cabinet when it meets in Northallerton on July 25.