For the first time in a year I drove along the coast road to Marske, a journey, which heralds up the beauty of seven miles of golden beach between Redcar and Saltburn as you drive along the North Riding coast line and on to the magnificent period Cliff House at the entrance to Marske. This concourse framing the view to one of the most well kept and desirable sea side villages of North Yorkshire.
To my horror, I discovered that the school ‘Bydale had been rebuilt upon the very corner of the road!
This school which was once set back from the road, supported a broad expanse of green playing field thus creating an un-obscured line of site which lead they eye on up into the village as you turned the corner to discover the late 18 Century cottages balanced by the architecture of The Ship Inn.
All is now lost, the entrance to the wonderful village of Marske has been decimated by a building which is so close to the houses opposite, I wonder how planning permission was given, being its appearance is avant-garde and out of character with the village.
One could not even describe it as being modern, the word ‘Prefabricated’ springs to mind, finally to the buildings colour, such is the over saturation of its garish scheme its hue’s are too painful to behold and very unsympathetic to the sandstone well managed planning of past centuries.
In this new school building I witness the rape of the virgin village of Marske by the Sea, indeed an abomination upon the future life styles of its people.
Within this design we witness kindergarten planning, an atrocity which will blight the opportunity by the council to refuse many if not all future designs by its example. Indeed we see the first example with the rebuilding of the town toilets in brick rather than traditional sandstone.
The Council claim that children derive energy from the colour of their surrounding, when I was Head Boy all we needed was the green of the playing fields and a ball. But alas for Marske such green fields of opportunity now support concrete.
I see the new brick toilets have been pulled down and rebuilt in stone as the original ones were constructed.