THE company at the centre of controversial plans for a £55m housing and leisure development has highlighted the need to get the public on its side.

With protestors having taken to the streets in opposition to the plan for Coatham Enclosure, in Redcar, Persimmon Homes said it hoped for public consensus.

Regional project director Peter Jordan said: "This scheme has been put together to act as a catalyst for the regeneration of Redcar. It is wanted by the people for the people of the town.

"We have set out to consult with the public before any planning application, and what the protestors are seeking to exploit is the fact we do not have all the answers, for the very reason that we are still developing options to try and achieve as much consensus as possible.

"When the application is submitted, we want to do it in partnership with the council and the community."

Chris McGlade, who is co-ordinating the campaign to block the scheme, said the company was not listening to residents.

He believes the site should only be used for leisure, with no houses on the land.

He said: "There will be no compromise and we are going to fight them legally and take them to court to stop them building on the open land."

Councillor Vera Moody, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's cabinet member for economic development, said: "We chose Persimmon for one simple reason -they were the only developer who would deliver a swimming pool back to Redcar.

"The council, after listening to the public, is going to deliver the two most requested features in this development -a swimming pool and a dancefloor. Without Persimmon, this would not be possible."

Updating councillors on the latest situation, Mr Jordan said: "We are listening to what people are telling us, examining options for amending the masterplan as pubic opinion and the results of technical investigations emerge."

Protestors will hold a public meeting at Coatham Bowl at 7.30pm tomorrow, and campaigners will take to the streets again on Saturday to oppose the scheme.