A village on the edge of Norwich is the first in the South Norfolk district to consider taking part in a scheme that aims to give local people more of a say in how their area should develop.

At a Cringleford Parish Council meeting councillors agreed to form a sub-committee to progress plans to take part in the Front Runners project.

This government scheme invites local communities to come up with a neighbourhood plan of how their area should develop in the future. If local people vote in favour of the plan in a referendum then it has to be taken into consideration when decisions are being made about planning applications in the area.

Following the parish council meeting on Thursday, Sue Mackinnon, chairman of Cringleford Parish Council, said: 'We have always been very pro-active in planning and dealing with developers and do not just sit back and wait to see what is going to happen, and because of this our two district councillors suggested to South Norfolk Council we would be ideal for this project.

'We have now set up a sub-committee to really look into the feasibility of the Front Runners project and we feel there are a lot of benefits to the project.

'We cannot influence how many properties are going to be built in Cringleford but we can have some influence on the style, the position and the density of the homes. It is about managing development rather than influencing the quantity.

'It gives us a position to say, for example, 'this particular area we want to keep as a greenfield area and this area is perhaps more suitable for development.'

'It is about giving the people a say and it sounds like a wonderful opportunity.'

Some 1,200 homes have been earmarked to be built in Cringleford in the future as well as the 1,000 houses earmarked for the Round House Park development.

Plans have been submitted to for 82 homes on the Round House Park development at Cringleford.

Persimmon Homes has sent in a reserved matters application to South Norfolk Council for 82 homes on about 4.5 acres (1.85 hectares) of land adjacent to the proposed neighbourhood centre for the Round House Park development.

Persimmon is proposing the 82 homes will be a mix of one- to four-bedroom properties, and 21 of them will be affordable dwellings.