MORE than 250 residents packed a public meeting to hear council representatives defend plans to bulldoze a town's last greenfield site.

Monday night's meeting in Guisborough's Sunnyfield House was called after residents formed a protest group to save the site at Chapel Beck and handed a petition to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. More than 5,000 people have added their names.

Council leader Coun David Walsh told the meeting that the authority wanted to move some offices to Guisborough, bringing 260 workers.

He said the council wanted to occupy the site at Blackett Hutton foundry, but its second option was the site of the old highways depot, and building there would mean bulldozing part of the greenfield site for car parking.

Ted Amos, chairman of the Beckside Park Protest Group, said residents were not against the council coming to Guisborough, just against the car park.

Dr Joan Rees, director of economy and environment for the council, said she was confident delicate negotiations with foundry owner William Cook would be successful.

She explained that any trees cut down at the beck would be replaced, and added that it would be a small amount of space used. The car park would be pay and display and open to the public.

But one Guisborough resident said: "We have almost no green land at all, we want it left as it is - you are here to represent us not rule us."

After the meeting, protestors vowed to carry on the fight to save the open land.