PEOPLE in Hartlepool are being asked to give their input into a plan that will shape how the town grows over the next 15 years.

An eight-week public consultation into the town’s local plan is underway – but it ends on July 22.

A drop-in event is taking place in the Baltic Suite at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool (formerly the town’s Maritime Experience) on Thursday from 2-7pm.

A short presentation will be repeated at regular intervals, maps and documents will be available to view, and council planning officers will be on hand to answer questions.

Once complete, the local plan will set out Hartlepool Council’s preferred policies for guiding the growth of the town for the next decade and beyond.

Issues covered in the document include:

• How to strengthen the local economy;

• Identifying where new houses should be built;

• The future development of the town’s infrastructure, including transport, community facilities and services and hospital and health provision.

• Tackling flooding issues;

• Where and how shops and other commercial development should be developed;

• Leisure and tourism development and

• Protecting the town’s heritage and natural environments.

Proposals and a map can be viewed and details of how comments can be made on the Council’s website at www.hartlepool.gov.uk/localplan. Copies of the plan can also be viewed at the Civic Centre, Hartlepool Art Gallery, and at the libraries in the town - including the mobile library and Central Library.