Town wins £3.2m to improve transport

A SCHEME to boost transport links into a North Yorkshire town centre has been given the go-ahead after receiving a £3.2m grant from the Government.

Roads and pedestrian routes in Northallerton will be upgraded after Hambleton District Council secured the funding from the Local Growth Fund.

The cash means the improvements can be carried out ahead of work starting on the £17m Treadmills development, which will transform the town’s former prison site into restaurants, flats, shops and a cinema.

The transport upgrades will cost £4.5m in total, with the remainder funded by the Central Northallerton Development Company, the company behind the Treadmills development.

Hambleton District Council Leader Mark Robson said: “This scheme will improve accessibility between the High Street and Treadmills.

“We want there to be strong connections between the town centre and this development and for road and pedestrian movements to be vastly improved.

“This scheme will do just that and will encourage people to visit and explore our market town.”

The redevelopment of the former prison, which dates back to the 1700s and housed prisoners for more than 230 years before it closed in 2013, was approved last month.

A four-screen cinema will be based above three restaurant units at the site, where 127 parking spaces are also planned.

The development takes its name from the fact that the jail once had the world’s largest treadmill, used to punish inmates sentenced to hard labour.