A GREEN campaign group is holding a meeting in Redcar tonight as part of a scheme to establish a green belt around the urban fringes of Teesside.

Earlier this year, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) together with residents forced a rethink on plans for a greenfield development to the south of Redcar.

The area has undergone a housing boom in recent years, with developments at the Ings in Redcar and other parts of the town as well as in Marske.

An Examination in Public was held in Middlesbrough to discuss the environmental future of the area and inspectors agreed that there should be no further building.

But the four local councils in Teesside - Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Middlesbrough Borough Council, Stockton Borough Council and Hartlepool Borough Council - as well as the housing firms succeeded in overcoming the CPRE's demand for a green belt.

The CPRE said the campaign has been prompted by the failure of the green wedge policies to protect those areas of high landscape value and green sites next to developed areas, which are not protected by legislation.

The group said its campaign would promote the issue of urban regeneration rather than the development of greenfield sites.

Jan Arger, chairman of the Stockton and District CPRE group, said: "Our Greenbelt Campaign has overwhelming support, not just from the general public, but also from both town and parish councils."

The meeting takes place at the Larkswood Community Centre, Larkswood Road, Redcar, tonight at 7.30pm.