LOCAL people are invited to have their say on the planning blueprint that could determine the future of their area for the next 16 years.

The early work on a plan which will shape the future of Hambleton to 2021 moves into the public arena next week.

A series of surgeries are being held across the district to give residents the chance to check out initial thoughts for the local development framework.

The plan is still in its embryonic stage but it will replace the existing district-wide local plan.

It will also take on board the various community plans throughout the area as well as a raft of strategies relevant to the development and use of land.

The framework will set out proposals and planning policies for the district over the next 15 years in four major documents.

The core strategy will contain the vision, objectives and strategic policies while an allocations paper will cover where housing, employment and other development should take place. They will be backed up by proposal maps to show where the policies and proposals apply while a series of development policies will help to assess planning applications.

"We now need to hear views on proposals for the first of those documents - the core strategy," said a spokesman for the district council.

"A set of topic papers have been drawn up to inform it - covering housing, the economy, community facilities, the environment, transport, spatial strategy and the vision."

The planning surgeries will offer the public a view of the work so far and the chance to talk to planning officers.

They run from 4pm to 6pm at the Galtres Centre, Easingwold, on Monday; Bedale Hall, Bedale, on Tuesday; Northallerton Civic Centre next Wednesday; the district council offices in Stokesley on Thursday, April 28, and the town hall in Thirsk on May 4.

See also the council's web site at www.hambleton.gov.uk