MOUNTING concerns over parking in a county town look set to ease, it has been claimed, despite a £5.6m scheme by one of its biggest employers to move more staff into its headquarters.

North Yorkshire County Council has unveiled plans to cut the number of offices it has across Northallerton and transform buildings at its County Hall site to enable flexible working and desk-sharing for its 1,602 staff in the town.

While the changes will cost the authority – which is facing having to make savings of £30m over the next four years – £2.5m and a further £3.2m for essential maintenance and refurbishment work, they are set to save the council £1.5m a year.

The authority’s leaders, who are expected to pass the plans next week, have dismissed pursuing an option to create purpose built offices, which it said could have cost up to £50m.

The council’s deputy leader Councillor Gareth Dadd said the changes aimed to help protect frontline services.

However, the changes will also include about 120 extra car parking spaces, with potential for more, at the site and could end a previous plan to create 132 extra parking places on a park which was once home to Northallerton Town FC.

When the council proposed creating a car park on the park in 2016, it received a wave of objections from residents, as well as the Football Association and Sport England.

Anger over the ability to park in the town has escalated since last year when more than 400 staff moved into the North Yorkshire Police headquarters site in the town, which has only about 100 car parking spaces.

Residents in other areas of the town, and in particular those near County Hall, have expressed frustration over their inability to park near their homes due to dozens of workers’ cars on the roadsides.

Councillor David Blades said the plans to transform the County Hall site would have a positive effect on an issue he had received many complaints about.

He said: “Anything we can do to alleviate the problem, which has been there for many years, will be welcome.”

A council spokesman said the additional parking at County Hall would be complemented by a drive to promote modes of transport to cut the demand for car parking there.

It is understood the building work will begin in January next year and the changes are set to be completed by December 2020.