Teesworks park and ride proposal deferred

Plans were proposed on the basis there would be 20,000 employees on site

A park and ride scheme has been put on hold after councillors said they feared environmental "vandalism".

The 1,294-space car park had been proposed for the Teesworks industrial site, on the outskirts of Redcar.

Redcar and Cleveland councillors had been recommended by officers to grant permission but they chose to defer it.

Work has already started to remove earth on the 35-acre site, next to the Coatham Marsh nature reserve.

A meeting of Redcar and Cleveland Council's regulatory committee heard the scheme was a "key bit of infrastructure" to support some developments already granted planning permission.

The site, north of the A1085 trunk road, was planned to be used during the construction of the Net Zero Teesside Power carbon capture project.

It would also be used by SeAH offshore wind facility workers, who will be transported to the plant by shuttle bus, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Neil Westwick, appearing on behalf of the South Tees Development Corporation, told the meeting the number of spaces was worked out on the basis there would be about 20,000 employees on site.

He acknowledged some trees would be cut down, but said there was a large-scale biodiversity strategy covering Teesworks.

Councillor Anne Watts said part of the site being proposed was recognised "green wedge" land and 5% of that would be lost.

She told the meeting: "This is unnecessary and is vandalism as far as wildlife is concerned."

Mr Westwick said this was a "very small loss".

Councillor Neil Baldwin asked that any trees removed would be replaced like-for-like.

Mr Westwick said he could not commit to that, but there was an intention to maximise the number of trees planted as part of an associated landscaping scheme.