Selby District Council wants to relocate traditional Monday stalls from Market Place to James Street for a year to allow contractors to complete the £1.4 million project.

Work includes increasing the Market Place footprint and repaving the area with Yorkstone and granite material.

The scheme will also see a 20mph speed limit introduced along Gowthorpe, with reduced carriageway width to seven metres, raised tables and pedestrian crossing points.

In a report, SDC consultants Golder Associates said: “It’s considered a proposal to relocate the market to cover the construction of environmental works in Market Place is essential if that scheme is to go ahead.”

Under the proposal, the Monday market would move to James Street, with the road shut to traffic from its northern end between Market Lane and Abbey Yard from 6am to 6pm.

The Micklegate stalls would remain unaffected, while the monthly farmers’ markets would move there from Market Place.

The report continued: “These public realm improvements are part of detailed proposals to improve the quality, appearance and function of Selby town centre, which has been described in recent surveys by respondents as ‘run-down and dirty’.”

The proposal is currently out for consultation, but no objections have been received so far. SDC planners will decide the application later this summer.

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire County Council this week launched a further consultation on the town centre scheme.

Selby area manager Paul Sheppard has written to businesses asking for their views on the proposals after a public exhibition at the town’s Londesborough Arms Hotel last month.

The deadline for responses is August 8.