AN ambitious scheme to revamp Redcar Seafront is set to receive a £5m cash injection by Redcar and Cleveland Council's cabinet.

The Environment Agency is planning to spend £25m on sea defences for the town and the cash from the council will pay for improvements to the area.

Among the plans, which were proposed last summer, is the creation of a 80ft vertical pier on the seafront.

The scheme aims to create a vibrant promenade to attract visitors, with a network of public spaces incorporating water cascades, sunshine traps, performance space and sheltered seating from which to view the town's seascape.

Councillor Sheelagh Clarke, the council's deputy leader and cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: "It is a vital part of our plans to rejuvenate the seafront.

"It is incredibly important to the people who come to visit Redcar that the beach and Esplanade are in the best condition possible.

"We really need to start the regeneration if we are to build on the number of people who are attracted to Redcar because of the seafront - it is the pivotal part of our regeneration scheme."

And Ian Wardle, the councils director of regeneration services, says in a report being considered by the cabinet tomorrow: "Redcar currently attracts 1.09m visitors per year.

"The visitor numbers have been static for some time contrary to visitor numbers within other coastal towns which have undertaken seafront improvements and seen their visitor numbers grow together with their local economies becoming stronger creating jobs and putting money into businesses.

"Along with other planned developments in Redcar we are aiming to grow visitor numbers across the borough to an expected 2.5m a year by 2024."

The proposals for the seafront came from an international design competition organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The winning design team is led by Harrogate-based landscape architects Smeeden Foreman, working with Seven Architecture, Arup and Davis Langdon (ALL CORR).

Final details of the scheme are being drawn up and an application for planning consent is expected to be made in March.

Work is due to start in the autumn is expected to take two years to complete.