The deadline is approaching for Breckland residents to have their say on growth and development in their district over the next 20 years.

October 31 is the closing date for a consultation on the draft Local Plan, launched in September, which has seen more than 450 residents, businesspeople and local councillors call in at drop-in events to ask questions and give their views.

Now Breckland Council is urging people who have not yet commented to give their views on the draft Local Plan, which outlines the preferred sites for future housing and employment development and proposes changes to settlement boundaries.

The council is holding fourteen drop-in events during the consultation. Officers report that topics raised at the different venues have varied greatly, from issues such as the level of housing growth and traffic arising in Dereham, archaeological matters in Swaffham, the Sustainable Urban Extension in Thetford and the necessity of employment and retail development in Watton.

View the online consultation at www.breckland.gov.uk/local-plan-consultation, submit comments by email to planningpolicyteam@breckland.gov.uk, or in writing, marked 'Local Plan Consultation', to the Planning Policy Team, Breckland Council, Elizabeth House, Walpole Loke, Dereham, NR19 1EE.