PLANS have been unveiled to turn the historic former home of a Ryedale museum into a restaurant.

The Fitzwilliam Estate, which owns the Old Town Hall in Malton, has submitted proposals to change the use of the listed building and carry out “extensive repairs”.

It previously housed Malton Museum, which closed last month after occupying the site in Market Place for more than 30 years, with thousands of artefacts being packed up and put into storage for an indefinite period after the search for an alternative home for them failed.

Under the scheme which has been handed in to Ryedale District Council, which is expected to make a decision on the proposals in May, a restaurant would be based on the ground floor, and the first floor would include a function room.

New front steps and a ramp for disabled access would be installed and six of the arches on the outside of the building – which dates back to the 18th century and was a civic base until local government reorganisation in 1974 led to the formation of the district council – would be glazed.

“Extensive repairs are now required and the prominent location suggests a new and more intense commercial use in support for the surrounding traders,” said a statement by Jan Maciag Architects, the estate’s agents for the scheme.

“The principal, and architecturally most interesting, features are the original arched butter market space on the ground floor and the meeting room above. Both are to be reused as public dining or private reception areas.”

The firm said work on the arches would restore the building to “much like its original 18th-century feel” and the renovations on the upper floor would “expose its historic character”.

A new stairway leading to the cellar area would also be fitted and no alterations or demolition work at the site are planned.

The trust which runs Malton Museum has said it will still exist and continue to take in items, as well as giving talks at schools and colleges, while its current collections will be maintained, although firmer plans for the future of the museum are still unclear.

The Fitzwilliam Estate has previously said the restoration and refurbishment work on the Old Town Hall will allow “a vibrant and exciting new operator” to be brought to Malton.