Improvements to town's 'gateway' back on the table

Improvements to a seaside thoroughfare are back on the table having previously been dropped due to rising costs.

Redcar and Cleveland Council has allocated funds to "enhance the functionality, appearance, and accessibility" of Station Road.

The improvements were originally included in Redcar Town Deal funded plans, but later removed after financial pressures led to money being re-allocated elsewhere.

Coatham ward councillor Carl Quartermain said the street was "the first impression thousands of visitors have when they arrive by train" and it should be "an attractive, welcoming route into the town centre".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority hoped to access £4.5m via the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) under the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement Access To Towns scheme.

TVCA had already provisionally agreed to release £110,000 worth of funding, some of which would be used to develop a full business case to secure the substantive sum.

The improvements would include consistent paving, new seating, tree planting, and widened pavements to support pedestrian flow and safety.

The project would also aim to create opportunities for a "cafe culture" allowing food and drink premises to expand outdoors, as experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The scheme would cover the entire length of Station Road which begins near to the recently renovated Redcar Central Station and runs north to Newcomen Terrace, where the Regent Cinema is located.

A 12-month contract award was issued to the firm Southern Green, who worked on the first iteration of the project, with much of the survey and design work previously completed said to remain relevant.

Work is expected to begin in spring next year, subject to funding being secured and planning permission being approved.

Quartermain said he "never accepted" the area "should be simply left behind" as it was "the gateway to Redcar".

He referred to a consultation taking place with residents and said their comments would "help the final scheme".

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