An appeal following the rejection of plans to build 12 detached and semi-detached houses along with a block of 16 flats on the site of a boarded up pub has been dismissed by a Government inspector.

L&L Developments proposed to demolish the Smiths Dock Inn, off Skippers Lane, Normanby , to make way for the development. But members of Redcar and Cleveland Council ’s regulatory committee refused the outline application amid concerns about its impact on the appearance and character of the area, including the setting of the grade two listed Smiths Dock Company War Memorial in the nearby Smiths Dock Park.

Inspector Ryan Cowley disagreed on this aspect, stating there would be no harmful effect. He said a proposed building housing the flats would remain an appreciable distance from the mem

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