MORE than 200 people attended a public meeting held against proposals for a multi-million pound development for Redcar.

Developer Persimmon hopes to build homes and leisure facilities on the site of the Coatham Enclosure and will be submitting plans to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

But Teesside comedian Chris McGlade, who believes the prime site should be developed solely for leisure and pastime purposes, wants to stop the scheme going ahead, and invited Redcar residents to a public meeting to debate the issue on Wednesday evening.

He has put letters through 1,000 residents' doors in the Coatham ward voicing his concerns over the proposed development.

He said he received a fantastic response at the meeting with about 40 people offering to help with publicity, including petitioning residents in Redcar town centre tomorrow, and ward-by-ward from Monday.

"We had a councillor, ex-councillors, residents from Guisborough, Saltburn and Skelton and concerned environmental groups at the meeting," he said.

"We will be fighting this on an ecological front and a legal front because this is common land.

"This development will make the town a ghost town. It will not attract more tourists.

"The proposed leisure facilities for the development are not guaranteed. People must remember that these are just proposals and we can still fight it."

He plans to organise a protest march to take place next month.

Marske councillor Mike Findley, who attended the meeting, said: "The meeting showed how much people are against these houses and flats being built."

But the council claims Mr McGlade is intent on misleading people about its effort to bring what it says will be a fantastic development to the town, creating 200 jobs and investing £55m in Redcar.

Coun Vera Moody, cabinet member for economic development, said: "A grant to pay for the development's leisure facilities, costing £22m, including a six-lane, 25m pool, is close to being secured.

"Funding is not available for stand-alone leisure elements. If the development does not go ahead, we will be left with a car park and a run-down leisure centre. We have sought legal advice and been told the development can go ahead on the land."