Pride in Pickering is aimed at bringing together all of the people – residents, local councils, police, highways bosses and other organisations – who can make a difference to how the town looks, works and feels.

Over the last few months a working party of town councillors has been interviewing local people and businesses to find out what they think is good – and bad – about the town, identifying issues of concern and listening to suggestions about what should be done.

The council will unveil its findings at the annual town meeting next Wednesday and outline its action plan.

The meeting in the Memorial Hall at 7pm is open to residents Councillors want to hear what they think and invite them give their views.

Here the Mercury looks at the working party's initial report and the action it plans to take. Over the coming months we will highlight the issues and greater depth and plot progress.

First impressions

THE council believes the four entrances to the town – Eastgate, Westgate, Malton Road and Whitby Road – the Forest and Vale roundabout and the main routes through the town are crucial in the impression they give to visitors.

Action

• With Pickering in Bloom and local resident Jill Murkett, the working party will assess the entrances to see if improvements can be made.




• With Highways North Yorkshire and Ryedale Council the working party will investigate the "plethora of signs" at the entrances to the Thornton Road Industrial Estate.




• It will work with highways officials to ensure trees lining the routes into the town are given regular health checks and damaged roadside verges are restored.




• The support of highways officials will be sought for repainting the tatty looking railings alongside the roundabout at Kirkham Lane and replacing ten missing finials. The town council itself has already approved a permanent planting scheme for the Forest and Vale roundabout because the roses that were in there were past their "best by" date. The £3,000 scheme will see seasonal planting this summer and in the autumn a permanent display of Red Australian Palms, Lavender and Cotton Lavender, together with Spring bulbs for the following years. The council will invite local businesses to sponsor each of the four sections of the roundabout at a total cost of £750 each over a four year period. In return they can provide a sign recognising their sponsorship.

Pickering Beck

THE beck is also seen as a key feature which can leave a good or bad impressions. It collects litter and branches and needs cleaning at least twice a year.

Action

The town council will liaise with local groups to see if anyone would be willing to run a clean-up and will pay for skip in which to dump the collected waste for disposal.

Public Open Spaces

THE town council is responsible for two public open spaces in the town centre – Riverside Walk and Smiddy Hill Both are main seating areas for tourists and locals alike and at their meeting last week town councillors were full of praise about how attractive Smiddy Hill, in particular, looked largely thanks to Pickering in Bloom and the town council. On Riverside Walk, the council suggests the two concrete lamp posts could be replaced with Victorian style columns to complement the railings, which need repair and the hanging basket columns

Action

• The council will liaise with Pickering in Bloom to draft a scheme of improvements




• It will find out who is responsible for the planting on the east side of the back and encourage regular maintenance. At Smiddy Hill the council questions whether more seats are needed and whether paths on the eastern side should be levelled.

Action

The working party will liaise with Pickering in Bloom to make recommendations.

Town Centre Seating

Action

• The town council wants to ensure that walls in front of the former Beckside Crafts building are retained for public seating




• Establish if there's a case for seating at the top of the Market Place and whether highways officials would allow it




• Establish if there's a case for replacing the seat stolen from outside the HSBC Bank at the bottom of the Market Place 4. Work out costings for any of these proposals.

Litter and Dirt

THE working party's research has found that litter is deemed to be a problem, although there are plenty of litter bins, together with dog and pigeon excrement. Silt on roadsides and footpaths allows unsightly weeds to grow.

Action

• Litter and excrement – encourage visitors and residents to behave responsibly and liaise with Pickering and District Civic Society and others, to hold an annual litter picking day




• Dirt – liaise with local authorities to arrange an effective clearing, cleaning and spraying regime and encourage residents and householders to keep the frontages to their properties clean.




• Pigeon excrement- work with Pickering in Bloom and the district council to bring about short and long term solutions to the problem – especially in Picture House Alley.




• Explore whether there is a role for a "town caretaker" and possibly seek a partnership with local service clubs such as Rotary, Lions and Round Table.

Shop front displays and A-boards

IT was Eastgate resident Ian Hepworth who first complained to the council about advertising boards – A-boards – and shop front displays clogging up footpaths. Mr Hepworth, whose mother, Julie, is Town Mayor, said he had counted almost 40 during a stroll from Thornton Road to Pickering Station and many were a hazard to the partially-sighted and disabled, caused problems for prams and pushchairs and were often unsightly. Following the complaint, councillors went on a walkabout to see how big a problem the sandwich boards were.

It was thought only highways authority permission was needed for the boards to be sited on public footpaths but it later became clear that advertising consent was also needed – and that was a matter for Ryedale Council planners.

That emerged after Magic Bean owner Robert Buchanan was advised to submit an application for a board outside his shop on Hallgarth. He did so and the bid was rejected in March last year.

One of the reasons given was that the "grant of consent for the display of the sign would set an undesirable precedent whereby signs which are similarly detrimental to pedestrian and highway and the visual amenity would be more difficult to resist elsewhere in the district." The town council said it wanted talks with the district council and local highways bosses to clarify the situation.

Action

The council's working party will liaise with local highways officials, the town's county councillor and Ryedale planners to establish if there are issues to be resolved and, if so, who is going to deal with them and when.