Wildlife Garden takes root.

Ladies from Saltburn Women’s Institute lent a hand to improve the environment by planting several native orchard trees in Saltburn Allotments Association’s new wildlife garden.
The activity was part of the Action Earth campaign, organised by Community Service Volunteers - the UK’s largest volunteering and training organisation, pictured Maureen Potter, Ann Cowie and Judith Strong of Satburn WI Sue Featherstone from Saltburn Allotments Association.
Action Earth aims to get people taking part in practical environmental projects which help improve the quality of life for now, and for future generations.
And luckily for all concerned, the sun shone down on Saltburn as the trees went in at the allotments off Hazelgrove Road.
Participant Maureen Potter said: “The wildlife garden is a lovely idea and the Action Earth campaign enables local people to become involved in improving their environment.”

Cut off by the Tide

Lifeboats were launched in darkness last night to save a family who waited more than six hours before raising the alarm. The frightened family became increasingly cut off by the incoming tide at 4pm at the foot of Huntcliff, Saltburn, but they did not raise the alarm until darkness fell, making a frantic 999 mobile phone call to police.
Police officers, the force helicopter and both Redcar RNLI’s lifeboats were called at about 10.40pm to assist.
Guided by the helicopter’s searchlight, the lifeboat was run in towards the water’s edge and two crew members put ashore, who helped the family into life jackets. The family, who were of Polish origin and from Darlington, were then taken to Saltburn beach, where an ambulance was standing by.
Dave Cocks, Redcar RNLI’s deputy launching authority, said: “We’re a bit puzzled why they waited so long before calling for help. They were rescued from is a notorious cut-off point. We would urge people to make careful note of the time of high tide before attempting to walk round the bottom of Huntcliff. They were lucky they were able to get a mobile phone signal so close to the cliffs, otherwise their predicament could have been much worse. They were suffering from mild hypothermia. If they had waited until daylight, they may well have been severely affected by the cold.”
Mr Cocks explained that as a general rule of thumb, people will be cut off at Huntcliff at least two hours before high tide and two hours after, and sometimes even longer.

Methodist Church repair work begins.

Work to restore Saltburn Methodist Church’s distinctive eight-sided tower and spire is now underway. Built in 1905 at a cost of £6,600 an inspection of the landmark building in 2005 revealed serious brickwork and metal corrosion.
The 85 church members immediately set themselves the task of raising money to carry out work on the spire, as well as pointing and guttering repairs.
The lowest tender for the repair work came in recently at £167,000 and as all but a few thousand pounds is in place the work has finally begun. Most of the funding is coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Impetus Landfill Trust and the Methodist Church’s property fund.
During the work, which is due to take about five months, the public can continue to use the main door in Diamond Street for access to the church.
Thought was originally given to removing the spire, but the building is listed by English Heritage as being of specific historic and architectural interest. Instead the top third of the tower and spire will be removed and rebuilt, largely with refurbished stone.

Saltburn Bank closed.

Saltburn Bank will be closed for £50,000 essential maintenance work for five days from Monday, March 3. The road is having to be closed for health and safety reasons as there would not be enough space for safety zones to allow vehicles to pass the workmen if there were temporary traffic lights in place. The Council will undertake specialist work to replace the storm water drain which runs from the top of the Bank to the first bend, which has become damaged with age. To maximise the closure the Council will also carry out major resurfacing works on a badly damaged stretch of carriageway to tie in with the work that was done in 2004.

Road closure signs will be placed at Quarry Lane roundabout notifying drivers heading towards Brotton, Loftus and the bottom of Saltburn Bank to follow the signed diversion route along the A174. Drivers heading towards Redcar, Marske and the top of Saltburn Bank are to follow a signed diversion route again along the A174.
Access to the Spa Hotel and Teddy's Nook will be maintained where possible from the top of Saltburn Bank. The car park and businesses at the bottom of Saltburn Bank will be accessed via the signed diversion route along the A174 and Saltburn Road.

R&C Cabinet Member for Highways, Transportation and Planning, Councillor Mary Lanigan, said: "We apologise for the inconvenience that we know this closure will cause many drivers but it is absolutely essential that the repairs are carried out to this stretch of road, particularly for cyclists, before the busy Easter and Summer seasons."

Riftswood Footpaths Closed

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council have closed two footpaths this afternoon in Riftswood in Saltburn's Valley Gardens after two people needed hospital treatment. The incident happened in the early afternoon when a tree was blown down in the fierce winds. One person was taken to hospital by ambulance and a second needed to be freed by the fire and rescue service and paramedics before being flown to hospital by the air ambulance.

George Crooks, Redcar Fire Station manager, said: “The two ladies were walking a dog together in the park at Saltburn and a fairly substantial tree came down and hit both of them. The tree had broken into a number of parts. We believe an older tree had fallen and hit it. It broke some three to four metres up the trunk and fell right across the public walkway on to the ladies.” The firefighters involved included the retained crew from Saltburn. Mr Crooks commended the team. “The fire crews raised the tree sufficiently using manpower and levers. It was a very protracted and time-consuming incident, but had to be that way to ensure safety. The partnership approach was a huge success and will hopefully lead to the full recovery of both ladies."

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council Leader Councillor George Dunning said: "This has been an extremely unfortunate accident due to the fierce swirling winds in the area. Our thoughts are with the two people who have been injured and we wish them a speedy recovery.We have evaluated the situation and taken the decision to close the two main paths, which both lead parallel from the Saltburn Woodland Centre to Marske Mill Lane because of the high winds and the forecast of more to come this weekend."

Surviving the fall! 200ft from the viaduct!

A man plunged nearly 200ft from a Teesside landmark - and survived. The 35-year-old was seen to fall from the Saltburn viaduct on Saturday. Witnesses reported seeing his fall broken by trees - after which he hit the ground and rolled down into the water. A major rescue operation involving police, fire crews and road and air ambulance followed soon after 2.45pm.

Paul Thompson, Cleveland Fire Brigade Watch Manager at Saltburn station, whose crews were first on the scene, said: “It looks like he’s come off the viaduct, about 180ft, hit tree branches and rolled down a steep embankment. We rescued him from the water. He was conscious. He should count himself a lucky man.”
He said the plan for such an incident had been worked out by himself and colleagues a year ago.
He added: “The plan worked well. We had two appliances and the rope rescue team from Coulby Newham station along with police and ambulances.”
He said witnesses had reported hearing a rush of air and the crashing of tree branches prior to the man - believed to be from East Cleveland - hitting the ground.
A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said a man was “poorly but stable” in James Cook University Hospital.
Saltburn Viaduct is the same height as the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough, which is also 180ft.

R&C Strategic Housing Land Assessment Consultation

The presentation of early plans for new houses in and around Saltburn has caused concern and confusion amongst many local residents. A number of residents attended a meeting of the Parish Council in December to listen to a short presentation given by a Redcar and Cleveland planner. However, as this was not a public meeting no input from the public was allowed. A spokesperson from Redcar and Cleveland council stressed that there were "currently no plans" to allocate any land between Saltburn and Marske for housing and that a public meeting would be held at some stage in the consultation process.

What is it all about?

A Strategic Housing Land Assessment has recently been completed by R&C Council and has been issued for consultation. The documentation provides a summary of an assessment of potential housing sites which has been undertaken as part of the preparation of the LDF Communities DPD (A Local Development Document in the Local Development Framework which forms part of the statutory Development Plan for the area). The Assessment comprises two documents – a main Report which sets out the purpose of the assessment and a summary of the findings, and supporting Site Assessment Tables. Both documents can be downloaded from the link below. Hardcopies of the Assessment are being made available to view at Belmont House, Guisborough and in public libraries.

SHLA Report and Site Location Maps.