Selby was captured by Parliamentarians in the Battle of Selby on 11 April 1644. There are other historical sites, such as the cholera burial ground on the north side of the abbey, the market cross and the local school, Selby High School. The Market Place has existed since the early 14th century when the market was moved away from the monastery churchyard. The Crescent which curves eastwards from James Street was planned in the early 19th century by a local man, John Audus, after seeing Lansdown Crescent in Bath, Somerset. Since 2000 Selby is expanding to become a larger town. New houses and shops are being built on the present town's outskirts with the expansion of the town stretching as far as the bypass, although this has resulted in the loss of some trade from the town centre. Meanwhile, the riverfront area is being revamped with modern housing and fashionable flats. Rail crash The 2001 Great Heck rail crash is also often referred to as the Selby rail crash. It happened a few miles south of Selby, at the village of Great Heck near the M62 motorway, and Selby was the closest major town to the accident site. On 28 February 2001, a vehicle crashed off the M62 down an embankment on to a railway track, where it was struck by a passenger train heading to London. The accident was then compounded by a second collision involving an oncoming goods train. Hobson murders Selby and its surrounding area came to national prominence, once again, through another tragedy on 18 July 2004, this time through four exceptionally violent murders carried out by former refuse collector Mark Hobson. Hobson, 34 at the time, killed his girlfriend Claire Sanderson, 27, and her sister Diane at a flat in the nearby village of Camblesforth. He subsequently murdered an elderly couple, James and Joan Britton, at their home in the village of Strensall, near York. Hobson was later sentenced to life imprisonment with the trial judge recommending that he should never be released; the High Court later agreed with this recommendation. Governance At the lowest level of governance is Selby Town Council. The town is divided into three electoral wards, north, south and west, each represented by six councillors. These 17 councillors are responsible for burial grounds, allotments, play areas and some street lighting. Elections to the town council are held every four years. The