INNOVATIVE schemes have been rewarded by a council's third annual design awards.

The awards, hosted by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, hailed schemes which lit up Saltburn Pier, restored a Guisborough garden and redeveloped a disused petrol station site.

The council's design champion, Councillor Peter Spencer, chairman of the judging panel, said: "We've been delighted once again with the overall standard, and the award winners deserve the highest praise."

The awards, along with commendations for two other schemes - for cottages at Skelton and a roundabout sculpture - were given to project teams at a presentation night at Upsall Hall, Nunthorpe.

The council organises the event every two years, attracting entries in architecture, planning, public art, urban design and landscape. It aims to recognise high design standards and serve as an example for others.

Competition organiser, Chris Watts, the council's officer for urban design, said: "We want developers, architects and the public to think imaginatively about design and work together to create better places to live in."

The award winners and commendations, were chosen by a panel of expert assessors, with representatives from the world of architecture, landscape and urban design and planning.

Winners were Sunnyfield House, Guisborough, for its garden restoration, based on designs from Georgian town gardens, with mix of herbaceous and shrub planting; Saltburn's Lighting Our Culture, a lighting scheme for the pier, the pier entrance building, the cliff lift and the grade II-listed beach huts; and Sterne Cottages, Skelton, redevelopment of a disused petrol station site into residential development in six phases.

Commendations were Bakehouse Square, owned and maintained by Guisborough Town Council for a six-month project, including remodelling of walls, landscaping and new Yorkshire stone paving; and Ladle of Steel, on the A66 roundabout, off Station Road, South Bank, for incorporating a feature wall, part of a series of proposed gateways.