A DISTRICT shopping centre is planned for the edge of Middlesbrough.

Dr Joan Rees, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's director of economy, said a centre of shops and community facilities serving Grangetown, Eston and South Bank will act as a catalyst for housing and investment.

A developer and an unnamed major food retail operator have approached the local authority expressing an interest in land just off the trunk road between Middlesbrough and Redcar, and close to the revamped Eston Leisure Centre.

Dr Rees said: "A great deal has been achieved in recent years in improving housing, tackling crime and reducing unemployment.

"But we now need to take a new look at the overall planning needs to see how we both deliver a better quality of life for existing residents, and provide the shot in the arm the area so clearly needs.''

She said a district centre would complement plans to revamp shops at South Bank.

Environmental improvements were planned for Eston, where a new operator for the former Presto supermarket would give the precinct a facelift.

If the council approves the idea of a centre, work will begin quickly on preparing and consulting over the plan.

Then it can be included in the Tees Valley Structure Plan, which will be considered at a public examination towards the end of the year.