WARNINGS that a North Yorkshire port faces Captain Cook overkill have been given as the town wrestles with a decision on a £10m scheme for a heritage centre to the navigator.

Reaction to proposals that include the conversion of a 19th century engine shed in Whitby has been mixed, the town council was told.

Behind the venture are Whitby businessmen Alf Abbott and John Halton, who say the scheme has the backing of such groups as Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency.

Whitby Civic Society said it could benefit Whitby economically and provide new jobs, but it had serious concerns about the volume of traffic it could generate.

Dr Sophie Forgan, of the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, questioned the anticipated numbers and feared it could struggle in the same way as the Royal Armouries, in Leeds, and Sheffield's National Pop Music Museum.

Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society warned that there were already a number of references to Cook in the town.

The Mayor of Whitby, Councillor Maurice Hatton, said that while he favoured the conversion of the engine shed into a heritage centre, he was opposed to commercial development on the site.

Coun Sandra Turner urged councillors to defer a recommendation to Scarborough Council on the scheme.