THESE are interesting times for the county town of North Yorkshire- and clearly more of them are on the way.

The news that Lidl is to be the “anchor” retail unit on the new Treadmills complex, formerly the site of Northallerton’s old prison, will undoubtedly be met with some excitement by many residents - although what Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and the others think can only be a matter for conjecture.

However the development can only add to the attraction of the town - and the fact that Treadmills is coming with a 130-space car-park will be a great relief for the many who wrestle with the local, much publicised, parking problems.

Spectator will be intrigued to see how the car-park’s usage is controlled when the 21,000 sq ft store opens late next year.

Meanwhile congratulations have to go to to the the town’s Business Improvement District and local town councillors for their efforts on Easter Sunday.

The latter gave up their holiday to take on the role of toilet attendants to help ensure that the town’s first classic car rally went smoothly - another “great relief” perhaps.

And the rally itself, organised by the BID, turned out to be something of a triumph (no pun intended) with around 5,000 turning out to see the impressive line-up of gleaming pride-and-joys.

The cars and motorbikes came from all over the country - presenting what was almost an object lesson in what the BID is all about, boosting the town’s businesses and economy.

The rally was just one of a number of public events the BID is involved in for Northallerton over the coming months and if they are as successful as Easter Sunday’s event then all the town will benefit.

There are indeed some interesting times ahead for the county town.