PEOPLE in Northallerton are being urged to join a project to bring jobs and prosperity to the town.

Community groups and local councillors met at the town hall on Wednesday to discuss ways to attract funding to Hambleton. The district council wants its market towns to bid for a slice of the £7.1m in European cash available for North Yorkshire in the single regeneration budget.

Hambleton has been divided into five zones based on Northallerton, Bedale, Thirsk, Stokesley and Easingwold. Each must produce a community investment prospectus identifying local problems and outlining projects to solve them.

Mr Mike Jewitt, Hambleton economic development officer, believes each prospectus could become a template for a wider regeneration of the market towns, helping to attract other funding such as lottery grants, and also helping services such as the local authority, the police and fire service meet the needs of local people.

A steering committee was set up to start work on the Northallerton prospectus. It involves town councillors, parish councillors from Appleton Wiske and Brompton, and representatives of the rural community council, Allertonshire civic trust and Northdale Horticulture. The district council will sponsor it until it can attract SRB funding for its running costs.

In order to qualify for cash, the prospectus must show it has involved representatives from across the community, such as young people, the elderly and people with learning disabilities.

More representatives of voluntary groups and parish councils in the Northallerton area are needed to flesh out the committee. The next meeting is on May 22 at 7.30 at Northdale in Northallerton. Anyone interested should contact community liaison officer Miss Rhona Pringle at Hambleton District Council on 01609 767233.