A council wants horse riders to say where they should have access in the borough.

The new equestrian access officer for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Penny Sinclair, is drawing up a strategy for the borough's horse riders.

Ms Sinclair said: "The first part of my work is trying to assess the demands from the equestrian community and what their requirements are, and to balance these alongside the needs of other countryside users."

Ms Sinclair is reporting to a ten-member equestrian access project steering group, made up of representatives from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the British Horse Society, council officers, the Tees Forest, the Countryside Agency and representatives from the local equestrian community.

The council's member for culture, leisure and tourism, Councillor Dave Fitzpatrick, said: "This authority is committed to ensuring that the ever-increasing number of horse riders can be safely accommodated and incorporated into the council's future plans."

The council said that Ms Sinclair cannot deal with requests for the horse passport, which are due by the end of 2003. For details on this scheme people can log on to www.defra.gov.uk/animal /tracing/horses/horsepassport.ht