MORE than 2,000 names have been collected by protestor Chris McGlade against proposals for a multi-million pound development in 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 probably in January.

But the Teesside comedian, who believes the prime site should be developed solely for leisure and pastime purposes, wants to stop the scheme going ahead.

About 200 people turned up for a public meeting he held last week in the town to discuss the plans.

With the help of people who attended the meeting, he says he has more than 2,000 signatures collected from people in Redcar town centre and the Majuba Road car park on Saturday.

He and his supporters are now petitioning residents ward by ward and a further public meeting will be held on Wednesday, at Coatham Bowl.

He said: "I am throwing down the gauntlet to the council and asking them to come to our next meeting and answer the public's questions face to face."

Meanwhile the council, which says funding would not be available for stand-alone leisure elements, has issued a detailed newsletter in an attempt to answer questions about the £55m development, which is being circulated to 2,500 homes in the Coatham area.

It contains information on how the development will be paid for, how it will be sustained, how a leisure only-development would be commercially unrealistic at the present time, and how its impact on Coatham will be minimised, including the impact of traffic.

Councillor Vera Moody, cabinet member for economic development, said she could not comment on whether the council would be attending the proposed meeting until a formal letter of invitation had been received.

No one from Persimmon was available for comment yesterday.