Plans have been submitted to redevelop a countryside haven for youngsters.

The Carlton Outdoor Education Centre, at Carlton-in-Cleveland, in the North York Moors National Park, has been operating for 70 years.

Schoolchildren from across Teesside stay at the centre, which has a number of buildings, while they take part in walking, climbing and other adventure activities in the area.

Plans have been announced to build a contemporary-designed accommodation centre behind Carlton and Faceby Church of England school to replace the existing 1960s building, which does not have disabled access.

It will provide accommodation for 48 children, a multi-purpose activity room, games room, communal lounge and a main pavilion.

The existing block will be destroyed and replaced with the new one at a cost of £860,00, of which £317,000 will come from the Government's New Opportunities Fund and the rest from Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Councils.

The scheme will be discussed by the National Park's planning committee next week.

The centre is managed by Hartlepool council on behalf of Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland councils.

In a letter to the commitee, Richard Attwood, agent for Hartlepool Council, said that for many children it was their first experience of the countryside.

"The centre buildings are outdated and in great need of modernisation," he said.

When not in use by the children, the centre will become a hostel for ramblers and other groups.

There have been objections to the scheme from Carlton parish council, which says a bungalow will have to be demolished to make way for car parking and the style of the centre will be out of keeping with the rural area and the rest of the village.

Although the parish council supports the upgrading of the centre in principle, it has asked for the development to be more sympathetic to the village.

Val Dilcock, the chief planning officer for the park, said in a report to members: "Modern and innovative designs are welcomed as a way of enhancing the variety and quality of the cultural heritage of the park."