A key route in and out of Marske could be closed for up to three months due to alterations associated with a planned new housing estate campaigned against by local residents.

Longbeck Road will be closed for three months in January so construction can take place on a new junction to allow access to the Miller Homes/Taylor Wimpey development providing 810 new homes.

Redcar and Cleveland Council said shuttle working and traffic controlled signals were “impractical” for the planned work due to space constraints, while the proximity of a railway crossing added further highway safety risks.

Marske councillor Dr Tristan Learoyd had requested that at least one lane remain open and claimed the council and developers “didn’t give a damn”.

He said the closure would be “problematic” for businesses in Marske when locals were already facing uncertainty from what he described as “colossal, unsustainable” housing developments in the area.

A spokesman for the council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that new road infrastructure would have a “long-term benefit”.

He said: “Due to the extent of works and the location of the railway crossing a closure is appropriate. 

“The works within the closure will be phased, to ensure Longbeck Nurseries always have a point of access. 

“The works will be monitored and the council will continue to work with the developers to reduce the impact on the highway network wherever possible.”

The spokesman said the housing firms had wanted to begin the alterations at the end of last month, but this was refused since the local planning authority did not want a closure potentially running into the festive period.

He said: “January was agreed as a suitable alternative which is why no advanced warning notices have been put in place yet.

“Warning signage will be in place in the first week of December, which will provide sufficient notice to the public of the closure.”

A statement provided on behalf of the Miller Homes and Taylor Wimpey consortium added: “Roadworks are due to take place on Longbeck Road as part of our development that will provide 810 much-needed homes in Marske-by-the-Sea.

“The roadworks and associated road closures are instructed and approved by Redcar and Cleveland Council and are in line with the planning requirements for the new development.”

The new development, which is bounded by Longbeck Lane, the A174 and A1085, was granted outline permission in 2017 courtesy of a successful appeal heard by a planning inspector.

It had been refused permission by the council two years earlier.

More detailed plans were then approved by councillors in March last year despite protests from some residents who have continued to periodically gather in a number of organised demonstrations held in the vicinity.

Critics claim the development will overwhelm the existing conurbation in Marske, while there have been calls to halt the project due to archaeological finds discovered during preparation of the land being built on.

Various planning conditions have been put in place to facilitate the development, which is due to incorporate leisure-type facilities, including a pub and restaurant and 60-bed hotel.

These have begun to be discharged and most contentiously involve the eventual creation of a new footway under a railway bridge on the A1085 – at the opposite end of the housing site – leading to Marske High Street.

Meanwhile, the two lane carriageway on the A1085 will be permanently reduced with a one-way system being put in place for traffic, controlled by lights.

This element and others had been objected to by St Germain’s ward councillors, Dr Learoyd, Kendra Evans and Karen King, along with Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council and Redcar MP Anna Turley.

Councillor Peter Finlinson, from the parish council, told a regulatory committee meeting last month that it was “an unworkable scheme which will cause real harm to the people of Marske”.

He said traffic surveys had shown there would be tailbacks “which would effectively shut down the village”.

But council highways engineer Michael Lawton said: “There is a need for the footway under the bridge, both for existing residents and new residents.” 

He said the “intuitive” lights system would detect and let through traffic backlogs quickly.