Developers have announced they will hold a public exhibition in Hethersett next week on proposals for almost 1,200 new homes in the village.

John Thompson and Partners (JTP) will be hosting the event on behalf of Hethersett Land Limited - part of the Ptarmigan Land Group - which will outline their plans to build 1,196 homes and a collection of community facilities, including a new primary school, the expansion of Hethersett High School's playing fields, sports pitches, allotments and a local centre.

A scoping opinion for the development has been sent to South Norfolk Council, but a formal planning application has yet to be submitted.

It follows a community planning weekend held by JTP in March 2010 concerning proposals for about 1,000 homes, although at the time a scoping request for up to 4,000 homes had also been submitted which attracted strong protests from residents.

Phil Emery, a member of the campaign group Hands Off Hethersett, urged people to attend the exhibition to make their views known, which will take place at Hethersett Methodist Church on September 22, between 4pm and 8pm.

He expected less opposition to the new proposals due to the decrease in the number of houses, but added: 'We accept there will be houses but we want it done right. We do not want Hethersett looking like a building site for 10 years. We must make sure we get benefits for the village and not just for the developer.'

Meanwhile representatives from South Norfolk Council held a separate public exhibition at Hethersett Village Hall today as part of its ongoing consultation into its Local Development Framework (LDF).

According to the Joint Core Strategy, at least 1,000 new homes will be built in the village over the next 15 years and the authority is asking residents which areas would be most suitable for development out of a list of sites put forward by local landowners.

Tim Horspole, planning policy manager at South Norfolk Council, said: 'We want to know if that site floods when it rains, or whether the local school is bursting at the seams near that area. Local people will have knowledge that we can not possibly know. We can't be everywhere at once and you only really know a place by living there.'

The council is holding 17 exhibitions in the district's major towns and villages throughout the consultation period, which will run until November 18.

For more information or to leave your comments, visit www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/ldf