Proposals to change the car parking offer on Marine Parade in Saltburn will not progress following the results of a public consultation.
Residents, business owners and visitors took part in the exercise after many people voiced their opposition to the proposals which Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council believed would improve parking arrangements and highway safety, especially during the summer months.
The scheme looked to create 90-degree parking spaces to Marine Parade West, by reducing the wide footway.
Just under 2,000 people took part in the survey, and the majority voted against the proposals.
The breakdown of the consultation can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/marine-parade-outcome
Cllr Alec Brown, Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, said:
“As an administration, we were pleased to have given the people of Saltburn the opportunity to have their say on the proposals.
“We have made the decision based on what matters to the community, and we thank everyone who took part in the consultation. We are a listening administration, and we were under the impression this had been properly consulted when we inherited this.
“Moving forward, we are now going to resurface the entire promenade, fix the railings and look to install EV charging units on Marine Parade. We will keep you fully updated on the next steps.”
Cllr Carl Quartermain, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport at the Council, said:
"Coming into this role within Highways and Transport in May, I was asked to make a decision over plans to improve parking along Marine Parade in Saltburn. I was happy to approve these plans subject to a period of final commentary from the public.
"Having received hundreds of comments and having received multiple messages directly and indirectly during this period, I hit pause on the project because I was not confident the public had been consulted adequately and because the feedback received revealed doubt over the popularity of the plan. I therefore called for a period of consultation so to be crystal clear and to move forward based on the data received.
"Following that process and having analysed over 1,900 replies from the survey, it is clear that the majority of Saltburn residents who took part do not want to see these changes made to the promenade. This was echoed by the majority of Saltburn businesses and by visitors. Having taken this time to listen I can confirm that I have advised officers not to continue with the proposal.
“I would like to thank the Council’s officers for all their hard work and to everyone who has participated in this process, at meetings and for all the comments made and received by the public."
The Council will now remove the old lampposts and retarmac the whole of the seaward footpath from the bank top to Hazel Grove entrance in addition to repairing the railings on Marine Parade, which has already started.
The Council will also explore Electrical Vehicle plug-in infrastructure in the top of the town.
The railings on Marine Parade are part of a wider project to make improvements to the Foreshore, including replacement of the lower promenade railings and the recently completed restoration of the Albert Memorial, a Grade II listed structure, thanks to funding from TVCA.
Footpath improvements have also taken place around the popular playground and play area in the Valley Gardens.
Other improvement works in Saltburn include the 25-space car park at the seafront next to Saltburn Gill Railway and Saltburn Gill Nature Reserve to accommodate more visitor parking, which followed the expansion of Cat Nab car park and the introduction of motorhome infrastructure.