What do people think of the suggestion I put to the Local Plan Steering Group that we should be looking at cleaning up places like Warrenby, getting rid of the derelict buildings and restoring it to a nice coastal village?
So many people have said to me over the years that they have fond memories of living in Warrenby.
Those industrial units that are actually occupied could be relocated. Coatham Marsh could be widened and deepened to make it a more attractive place and at the same time act as a much needed flood alleviation scheme.
The Council is currently working on a new Local Plan. It is clear that developers are looking to build on the green fields between Redcar, Marske and Saltburn. Recently the Council unanimously agreed a motion from Councillor Philip Thomson, which I seconded, stating that priority should be given to building on brown field sites and not on the green fields that maintain the individual identity of towns like Redcar, Marske and Saltburn.
Whilst the Council no longer builds houses it can and should act as a facilitator to assist in obtaining funding to clean up run down and derelict areas to make them attractive for house building. With the closure of the steel works a lot of government funding is going to be made available to clean up industrial land.
If the Council really does support giving priority to making brown field sites suitable for house building it needs to ensure that these sites are identified in the Local Plan.
