AN EAST Cleveland wood is to be given protection.
Errington Woods at New Marske is to get protected status in a structure plan mapping out areas for development on Teesside.
John Lowther, director of the Joint Strategy Unit, authors of the plan, said: "It is a high landscape feature and this gives it extra protection from development.
"It forms an important back cloth to New Marske in terms of the woods and countryside scene."
Mr Lowther added: "It is essential we retain and enhance the character of that area and make sure nothing happens to it, to lessen its value.''
The Teesside Green Party is claiming credit for the planners' decision to make the 18th Century-planted woods a no-go area for developers.
Party spokesman Peter Goodwin, of Marske, said: "It's pleasing to see this change made. Errington Woods are a much-valued part of the local landscape.
"Even for those who never go up there, the view of the wooded hill from the coastal towns is something to be prized. It deserves special protection."
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