Mr Goodwill will be present at a meeting of the Helredale Neighbourhood Council on Monday night where members of the public can make their feelings known to him.

Viv Wright, secretary of the HNC said: “We wrote to Robert telling him of our concerns for the loss of our few open spaces and play spaces in the area and he offered to come along and listen to local residents, and to have a look at the sites the council wants to build on.

“We’d like to see as many residents as possible at the meeting as this is an important opportunity for them to put their feelings across to him.”

The HNC was formed when Scarborough Council announced it was looking to build 300-plus new homes in Whitby by 2015.

The residents formed the group to stop development on Helredale playing field and now are looking to protect open spaces throughout the town.

Mr Goodwill said there was a fine balance between the need to protect open spaces and the need for new housing.

He said: “I get a lot of letters from constituents saying they are concerned about the possible loss of open spaces in Whitby.

“Conversely I also get a lot of letters from people saying there is a lack of affordable housing in Whitby and they cannot afford to live in the town.

“Scarborough Council has to tread a fine line between keeping open spaces in the town but they are also obliged to provide new housing and to maximise their assets on behalf of taxpayers.

“That said with our recent success in the Olympics it would be a shame to start selling off our sporting facilities.

“Hopefully I can act as an extra conduit between the council and the residents.”

Mr Goodwill will meet the council members and residents at St Peter’s Court Community Centre at 6pm on Monday.

Anyone with an interest is invited to attend.