CANS of worms and storms in teacups were the concern of the day at Northallerton Town Council this week. Northallerton Cemetery and parking was the issue.While parking is an ever present problem in the town this debacle is different, and Spectator thinks not a little bizarre. The cemetery is run by a Joint Burial Committee comprising Northallerton town and Romanby parish councillors.

Recently a letter was sent from the committee to Northallerton Town Council requesting that their staff do not park in the cemetery grounds. The council was not a little aggrieved with Councillor Jack Dobson embarking on an extensive investigation into who owned the cemetery. He has now revealed it is effectively the town council, so a letter is being sent back to the burial committee telling them no restrictions on personnel parking there will be accepted. And indeed an extraordinary meeting of the town council has been set for April 30 to discuss the future.

Spectator hopes you are keeping up with all of this and applauds the voice of sense which came from town councillor John Prest. "This is a storm in a tea cup and it is making Romanby parish Council, the Joint Burial Committee and Northallerton Town Council a laughing stock. It is a disagreement that has been blown out of all proportion," he told fellow members.

Bravo we say. There are major developments in the pipeline for Northallerton and surrounding areas and quite a few outstanding issues. Don't mention the level crossings. So the question must be asked, is parking at the cemetery involving probably a handful of cars really a big issue? That however is so often the problem when you open a can of worms.