RYEDALE District Council is facing a bill of more than £150,000 after losing a judicial review over plans for a supermarket on Wentworth Street car park in Malton.

The Fitzwilliam Malton Estate (FME) has submitted a claim for legal costs are winning the High Court hearing last month, Lawyers for the FME, which is proposing to build a Booth’s store on the town’s livestock market, argued five grounds on which the planning consent granted by the council for another store on Wentworth Street car park should be deemed unlawful.

Mr Justice Dove found in favour of FME on four of those grounds.

The court order blocking the planning permission also provides for all FME’s costs in the matter to be recovered from the district council.

In a report to last night's (Tuesday) planning committee, the council's solicitor Anthony Winship, said FME has claimed £145,602 plus VAT.

However he added that the costs claim as a whole appeared to be 'completely unreasonable' and were being contested.

Mr Winship said that as a result of the judgement and court order quashing the planning permission, the application remained live and the district council, had a duty to re-determine it, unless the application was withdrawn by the applicant or called in by the First Secretary of State.

He added that the findings of Justice Dove were 'disappointing' given the evidence presented to him.

"Consideration was given to an appeal against the High Court's decision but, an appeal was not recommended having weighted up the prospects of success against the cost of further litigation," Mr Winship said.

"Accordingly it was considered that it would not be in the general public interest to appeal the judgement."

In 2012 the district council was ordered to pay £148,000 costs to the FME in relation to the livestock market appeal.