MORE than 200 people attended a public meeting held 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.

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

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

"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."

He plans to organise a protest march next month.

But the council said Mr McGlade was intent on misleading people about its effort to bring the development to the town, creating 200 jobs and investing £55m in the town.

Councillor Vera Moody, cabinet member for economic development, said: "A grant to pay for the development's leisure facilities, costing £22m, including a six-lane, 25-metre 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."