THE first draft of a masterplan for the development of Settle was presented to the community on Monday.

The renaissance market town meeting also formally set up a "renaissance team" for Settle, a group of people who will drive the process forward in consultation with the community.

The masterplan, drawn up by John Thompson and Partners based on comments and ideas put forward within the renaissance market town process and drawn from previous work in Settle including the chamber of trade's Erskine report and the Community Investement Prospectus, identifies possible areas for projects.

The Market Place was a prime concern and Duncan Ecob, of John Thompson and Partners, demonstrated various ways of restricting vehicular use to make the area a more flexible space.

"The space around the Town Hall, Shambles and Market Cross is quite limited at the moment. There is the main road with a lot of heavy traffic and the road to Upper Settle and Malham. It is quite a busy space. The traffic takes a bit from it, but it is important to the local economy."

He showed pictures of Paris and Copenhagen to demonstrate various techniques for making squares more pedestrian friendly while retaining flexibility.

The masterplan also concentrated on the riverside in the Sowarth area, possibly moving industry to another as yet unidentified site and using the area for housing, business and shopping.

Mr Ecob said Whitefriars car park could be moved to allow mixed use of the space and he supported a Victoria Hall extension with development down to Whitefriars.

The station square was also earmarked for improvement and Mr Ecob pointed out that there was currently very little at the station to encourage people into Settle.

The Hub, a centre of business and related inquiries, looks set to be established in part of Settle Police Station, and Mr Ecob suggested some town hall activities could transfer there - although not the Tourist Information Centre.

Barbara McLernon said that parts of Settle did need smartening up, but pleaded for restraint.

"Settle is what it is. Please don't change the area. No matter where you put the car park, people will still try to park as near to the shops as possible. Don't take the heart out of Settle," she said.

Consultant Steven Leach stressed that he and his colleagues were helping the town along the way, not leading it, and that decisions on which projects to pursue and how to move forward were for the community to make.

Craven district Council's head of economic and community development Jonathan Kerr said: "There will be lots of work to come on absolutely everything."

A renaissance team was appointed to steer the process.

Lynne Ridgway put forward a motion that Settle and district renaissance team should be set up to progress an action plan and work to make recommendations for the development and evolution of the area.

Among the team's tasks is drawing up its constitution, continual consultation with as many members of the community as possible and deciding which projects to take forward.

The team is initially to be chaired by Deirdre Cokell. Other members include Beth Graham, Martin Lewton, David Heather, Helen Lupton, Alison Fawcett, Helen Firth and Peter Boswell.

John Diggles and David Gooch have been invited to join the team and are considering their response.

All the renaissance team meetings will be open to the public and the first one has been set for Thursday September 4 at 7pm in the Castleberg Room at the Victoria Hall.

In the meantime, anyone wishing to make comments or get involved in any way can contact Steven leach at Athol House, Panorama Walk, Pateley Bridge, Harrogate, HG3 5NX, tel 01423 712895 or email: steve.leach@btinternet.com

There is also a folder in the Tourist Information Centre in Settle Town Hall for comments which will be passed to the team and renaissance information is displayed in the centre's window.