Saltburn and Marske are at risk of being the next Ingleby Barwick. We the undersigned from Redcar and Cleveland request the people of Saltburn take action 4th May 2023 by voting for any suitable opposition to Councillors Stuart Smith and Phillip Thompson. Two councillors who repeatedly ignored the council’s 2030 carbon neutral policy.

Events of 02/03/2023.

On 2nd March 2023 at Redcar and Cleveland regulatory committee, councillors voted in favour of the South of Marske “new town” on a split decision.

The final approval of the petrol station, pub, drive-through take-away and 810 houses - without school or surgery - means 564,000+ tonnes of preventable CO2 emissions (houses, plus cars, plus drive-through, plus petrol station) will be generated over 25 years from an area of 71 football pitches on the fields behind Marske. The houses approved will have gas boilers and less than 1 solar panel per house. The area has “sparse tree coverage”, no wildlife corridors, no woodland, no park and no play area.

The site was supposed to be designed for 2050, but is already out of date.

In 2021 Redcar and Cleveland including Councillors Stuart Smith and Phillip Thompson, who represent Saltburn, voted for a carbon neutral borough by 2030.

At and before the regulatory meeting 2nd March 2023, all of the regulatory committee were given 40+ policy and legal objections to reject the development.

At the meeting the vote was adversely effected by Cllr Thompson’s recommendation that a council officer speak with the developer’s agent one-to-one outside the room.

The agent went out the room, came back in, and proposed exactly the same offer. Stating a 31% reduction in CO2 emissions. This was a 31% reduction of a new gas boiler against an old gas boiler at page 17 of the original falsified energy proposal. When objectors attempted to point out how the developer was hoodwinking the councillors, Cllr Smith shut them down.

Smith, chair of the committee, then made unfounded allegations that he had been threatened, which was clearly directed at the 50+ objectors from Marske who had congregated in the decision chamber, before reading an election statement for re-election in Saltburn, and then allowing a vote on the old proposal presented as new. The deal described by the objecting Cllr Alec Brown as a “deal written on the back of a fag-packet”.

Smith and Thompson then voted the development through with five other councillors from outside the area.

The gap between Marske and Saltburn is quickly being built up on. Three fields between the two have disappeared under Smith and Thompson since 2014. An area of 137 football pitches in total.

Neither councillor has made changes to the area’s local plan to protect the area between Marske and Saltburn, despite both being involved in planning matters for a combined 24 years.

Agricultural land is being eaten up, by here-today gone-tomorrow developers, converting Marske and Saltburn into a concrete climate destroying urban jungle.

Marske forever lost its village status on 2nd March 2023.

We, the undersigned, request neighbours in Saltburn to vote for people who represent the residents - and are willing to stand up to developers - and to vote Councillors Stuart Smith and Councillor Thompson out of office.