A LONG-RUNNING wrangle between a brewery and a council may finally be settled tonight - paving the way for the rejuvenation of Tadcaster town centre.

Selby District Councillors are being asked to back an historic agreement with Tadcaster brewers and landowners, Samuel Smith's.

Council leader Mark Crane said today that under the deal, the brewery would provide a high quality refurbishment of the town's Central Car Park and public conveniences, with granite setts and York stone used to pave the car park.

He said ownership of the car park would be transferred from the council to Samuel Smith's, once the revamp had been completed, but with certain provisos in place. For example, it would have to remain as a short-stay car park for the use of people such as town centre shoppers.

The brewery would also agree to provide 50 new homes to help meet the town's housing needs, and to Kirkgate being used as a street market - although any proposal to permanently close the street to traffic would be in the county council's hands.

The council and brewery have been involved in a protracted legal wrangle over the car park. Coun Crane said that at one stage it transferred ownership to the brewery but then went to the High Court to get it back after the company failed to carry out the promised refurbishment. He said that more recently, the brewery had gone to the High Court to seek a judicial review after the council had granted planning consent for an upgrade of the car park. Under the new agreement, the council would agree to quash the permission, and the brewery's High Court action would therefore fall.

He said the deal followed a year of protracted negotiations with the brewery, which had been prompted by Tadcaster councillor Chris Metcalfe, pictured.

"It would be an historic agreement," he said.

"I hope it will act as a catalyst to the rejuvenation of Tadcaster."

Coun Metcalfe today hailed the agreement, which he said would bring to an end an impasse standing in the way of badly-needed redevelopment. He said that about 12 months ago, he had been to see the council's chief executive to ask him to try to find a way of breaking the deadlock with the brewery.

Another councillor, Brian Percival, said the agreement would be an excellent early Christmas present for Tadcaster.

A brewery spokesman today declined to comment.

Updated: 11:25 Tuesday, December 13, 2005