A PUBLIC consultation has been extended to make sure people can have their say on the County Durham Plan.

Durham County Council is asking people to give their views on on the amount of new development needed for housing, potential job creation and future retail spaces until 2033.

The plan will also cover what infrastructure is needed to support these, such as transport, schools and green spaces.

The consultation will now close at 6pm on Monday, August 8.

This follows maintenance work to the national Objective IT system over the weekend, where the consultations are published.

Cllr Neil Foster, Cabinet member for economic regeneration and culture, said: “The County Durham Plan will set the future of our county so it’s vital that everyone lets us know what they think so we can move forward with a plan that helps everyone.

“With the plan guiding development of the county to 2033, we need people to let us know what they think of the options we’ve identified, or if there’s anything else that they would like us to consider to make sure it meets the needs of their communities.”

Following this consultation, the next stage will see the council use the comments received, alongside evidence, to prepare a preferred option for the County Durham Plan. If agreed by Cabinet, this will be consulted on later in the year.

The council's consultation on its draft sustainable transport plan has also been extended until 6pm on Monday, August 8.

People can respond online by visiting www.durham.gov.uk/CDP.