A NEW housing scheme in a village would "drive a battering ram" through the lives of elderly people.

This was the warning of a councillor as the plans for Skelton came under the spotlight.

But despite objections, the application for 24 homes on the site of a riding centre is still in play.

After a site visit on Tuesday, members of Redcar and Cleveland planning committee have still not made a decision.

Instead, they deferred the issue for talks on an alternative access road to the site near Whitby Close.

The agent for the applicant, however, does not hold out much hope of a compromise. He insisted there were no planning grounds for refusing the scheme, based on the former Cleveland riding centre in North Skelton.

The site is reached via the busy A173 and access has been earmarked past Whitby Close, where elderly people live. Planning officers are recommending approval.

Ward Coun Dave McLuckie said Skelton had enough development taking place with 800 homes still to be built.

He had received a strongly-worded petition from residents that the site was not suitable for families.

Coun Vera Moody said the committee should look at the possibility of an alternative access road.

Coun Steve Kay warned: "There is no solid reason for turning this down and it would go to appeal if we did. I agree with taking another look at access. To blow this out now would be suicide."

But ward member Coun Mike Stephen said: "Whitby Close is a tight-knit community and this will drive a battering ram through it. It is nice and quiet and the people enjoy living there. This will change all that. The traffic would be horrendous."

Coun Eric Empson insisted: "It can't be turned down on planning grounds. It meets all our guidelines. An alternative entrance is the answer."

Coun McLuckie said: "This is and should continue to be a haven for elderly people where they can live in relative safety with CCTV cameras. This would take away all their tranquility."

Moving refusal he said: "We should be saying to them: we won't ride roughshod over you. We understand how you feel, we know you are a community and we want to help you. This will bring heartache and pain to the elderly community."

Coun Kay moved the amendment that a decision be deferred for talks with the applicant about an alternative access avoiding Whitby Court.

Mr Ian Reynolds, agent for applicant Gordon Bonas, said later: "There are no reasons for refusal yet the committee has decided to defer this for further talks. We will go along with this. We will see if we can reach a compromise but it is hard to see how we can because of the access difficulty on to the main road."

Mr Reynolds stressed the scheme would not involve more than 24 home