A PLANNING inspector has been told how a scheme to build houses in east Cleveland would have changed the character of the area and potentially caused "social harm."

Inspector, Peter Rose, closed the four-day enquiry, held following Taylor Wimpey's appeal against Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council’s regulatory committee’s decision to refuse its application for 130 homes on fields between Saltburn and Marske.

Members unanimously rejected the application on land south of Marske Road, Saltburn, at a meeting in January because it would have closed the gap between the historic communities of Saltburn and Marske.

The land also has a number of public highways and footpaths running through it.

However, Taylor Wimpey has appealed and argued it should be allowed to build the detached, semi-detached and terraced houses on the 14-acre site south of Marske Road because the council could not demonstrate it would provide enough houses needed for the population in the next five years.

More than 50 protestors turned up for the first day of the planning inspectorate hearing and more than 2,000 people have signed a petition against the scheme.

On the final day of the hearing on Friday, the council's barrister, Alison Ogley, cited various authority policies designed to protect not just the countryside, but strategically important open areas and argued the authority's decision met with that policy. She also said there would be "a social harm" if the new homes were built because of a loss of identity between Marske and Saltburn.

She said: "Before we take something we can't bring back we have to be sure, very sure, that there really is a need."

However, Mark Johnson, an independent planning consultant hired by Taylor Wimpey, said that although the council had a policy to protect important countryside, that didn't mean it couldn't be built on. He said the development was designed to both "protect and enhance" the area. He also argued that far from causing social harm the new housing could add to the social good.

He was questioned by Terrance Cox, a key campaigner against the housing scheme. Mr Cox put it to Mr Johnson that the new houses were designed for high earners, but in fact such people would rather live in the villages of North Yorkshire.

Mr Johnson rejected the analysis citing the example of a similar successful housing development near Wetherby.

The closing statements from the council and Taylor Wimpy must be supplied to Mr Rose in the coming days and he will then make a decision.