'Big trouble' - Councillor issues warning over plans for more homes in Yorkshire village
Plans for more new house building in Marske by Taylor Wimpey are facing mounting opposition.
The construction company is launching a pre-application public consultation exercise for 210 new homes on land next to the A1085 Coast Road.
It said there would be a range of two to five bedroom homes, 15 per cent of which would be in the affordable bracket, and they would serve an “acute need” for new homes across the borough.
But Marske councillor, Dr Tristan Learoyd, who represents the St Germain’s ward, claimed the new proposal was “all about profit”.
He said: “[Taylor Wimpey’s] claim to be providing much needed housing is laughable.They have no interest in helping with the housing crisis, or helping local people get on the housing ladder.”
A letter sent to Coun Learoyd by a Taylor Wimpey representative, Chris Perry, however, said it would be a “sustainable development that addresses local need”.
The firm also said enhanced pedestrian and cycle routes would link the Coast Road and nearby Redcar Road, with new native trees and hedgerows being planted along the site’s western boundary.
Coun Learoyd has repeatedly clashed with the firm’s representatives over a scheme in conjunction with Miller Homes creating more than 800 new properties south of Marske which received planning permission in 2023.
He claims there could be at least three other agricultural fields along the A174, which bypasses Marske on the way to Saltburn, in line for development in future years.
This could lead to a “dual carriageway solution” for the A174 being needed, the councillor believes.
As well as a controversial extension to the Silverdale Gardens estate, which sits between Redcar Road and the A174, Taylor Wimpey is also waiting on a planning determination for a scheme including more than 300 homes north of New Marske.
Meanwhile, in June, 93 new properties were approved at the second time of asking on the edge of Saltburn in a scheme by another developer Keepmoat Homes.
Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council strongly objected, complaining about the erosion of a “strategic gap” between Saltburn and Marske previously earmarked in a Local Plan adopted by Redcar and Cleveland Council which is due to be updated.
Coun Learoyd said Marske was in “big trouble” and already struggling for GP surgery capacity.
He also said “arbitrary”, “nonsensical” housing targets imposed on local authorities by the Government were part of the problem.
In July 2024 the Government announced new house building targets with a view to delivering 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current Parliamentary term, which raised Redcar and Cleveland’s annual completion target from 234 a year to more than 600.
Posting on Facebook, Coun Learoyd said he’d “warned about this four years ago”, and referenced plans to develop several fields around Marske being underway.
He wrote: “We face a conurbation of 100,000 people with no new infrastructure – taking into account Marske, Redcar and Saltburn combined with all the developments inbetween – unless we act.”
The councillor said he was organising a ‘crisis’ meeting at the White House in Marske on Sunday, November 15, at 3pm, for concerned residents to attend.
Also posting on Facebook, another St Germain’s councillor Kendra Evans said: “Once again, Taylor Wimpey is taking over our green space and strategic gaps to build more houses, this time on the Coast Road. “
Council leader Alec Brown also took to Facebook saying he had “serious concerns” and agreed “100% with ward councillors standing up against the proposal”.
He said: “People need homes, particularly our young people and local families, but that cannot mean building on every available piece of green space without considering the consequences for our communities.
“We must protect the identity of towns like Marske. Our towns have their own character, heritage and sense of community, and the green gaps between them are an important part of what makes this area special.
“We also have to consider the additional pressure on our roads, schools, GP surgeries and other public services. Building homes must go hand in hand with the infrastructure communities need.”
Another councillor, Debbie Powlay, whose ward is in Dormanstown, in Redcar, wrote in response: “The first 19 years of my life I lived in Marske and walked the coast road many times, it’s a beautiful stretch of open land that meets the sea.To build here would be wrong.”
Redcar MP Anna Turley also weighed in on social media, stating: “I’m standing alongside residents, the ward councillors and Alec Brown in opposing these plans, and I will make sure local voices are heard.”
In a statement Taylor Wimpey said: “We are currently preparing proposals for 210 new homes on land south of Coast Road in Marske, including affordable housing, 8.5 acres of green open space and children’s play areas.
“Our plans are at an early stage and investigative surveys remain ongoing.
“To inform our proposals, we’d like to hear local people’s views before we submit an outline planning application to Redcar and Cleveland Council.”
The company said a drop-in event would be held at Marske Leisure Centre between 3pm and 7pm on November 26 when its project team would be on hand to talk through the plans and answer questions from the public.