That’s one of the questions Pickering Town Council’s business engagement group plans to ask as part of the Pride in Pickering campaign supported by the Mercury.

The group – Cllr William Oxley, Cllr Joan Lovejoy and Cllr Joan Taylor – is one of three working on specific themes and tackling issues in the town. The others are open spaces and litter/cleanliness.

The business engagement group is now talking to local businesses to seek their support for the Pride in Pickering drive and to encourage them to join the group and get actively involved.

Cllr Oxley said: “We want to engage with local businesses and get them talking about what they’d like to see happening in Pickering.

“We can tie in with the whole issue of what’s going to happen with the closure of the Market Place.

“Personally I’d like to see the Market Place and The Ropery as a shared space which everyone can use, as they do in France, Belgium, Holland and Scandinavia, with street art, street performers and such like.

“Maybe Pickering is not ready for it, but I think there’s an opportunity here to stimulate the debate.

“Pride in Pickering is about bringing people together to discuss what is the best way to use the space and look at all options.”

Cllr Oxley said the group is also keen to get businesses together to see how they can help to promote and improve the the town for residents and visitors alike.

He said: “As a group we’re asking how we can improve the public realm. It can be simple stuff, like businesses sweeping the front of their shops and picking up litter, that all helps to make the town a better place to visit.”

Leaflets are being delivered to businesses across the town, including those on the industrial estates encouraging them to back the Pride in Pickering campaign, come up with ideas and get involved in the business engaement group.