People across Great Yarmouth are being invited to shape a key planning document which is looking at reducing the number of homes needed in the borough.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is consulting on a Local Plan which includes looking at a proposed reduction in the overall housing target, provisional policies for deciding planning applications and suggested allocations of land for development.

The council is proposing the overall housing target, originally set in a core strategy, is reduced from 7,140 over the period 2013 to 2030, down to 5,139, as a result of a revised government method for calculating local housing need.

The suggested housing allocations aim at a sustainable and viable distribution of housing growth across the borough, when taking into account development already completed or permitted.

The initial draft document, called Development Management Policies, Site Allocations and Revised Housing Target, is open to consultation from Monday, August 20 and Sunday, September 30.

After the consultation, the draft document will be reviewed in light of the responses and further government advice and data about revised planning policy and guidance, which could further alter the proposed overall housing target. The draft document will then be subject to further public consultation before being finalised.

The council is holding a number of public exhibitions with officers available to speak to throughout the consultation at the following locations and dates:

Great Yarmouth Town Hall – 1pm to 7pm on Thursday, August 30

Ormesby St Margaret Village Hall, Station Road – 1pm to 7pm on Monday, September 3

New Road Sports and Village Centre, Belton – 1pm to 7pm on Friday, September 7

Gorleston Library – 11am to 5pm on Wednesday, September 19

Hard copies of the consultation document will be available at the Town Hall and local libraries. All comments must be received before midnight on Sunday, September 30. Those wishing to comment can either do it online at www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/planning-consultations or by completing a Local Plan comments form.

Comments forms are available from the Town Hall and all libraries. If required, a form can be posted out on request. Completed comments forms should be sent to: Strategic Planning Team, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Town Hall, Hall Plain, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 2QF.

In a joint statement, Cllr Graham Plant, the council leader, and Cllr Trevor Wainwright, the Labour Group leader, said: “Sustainable development is vital to ensure the borough’s economy continues to grow and future generations have jobs and the right mix of good quality homes, which are two of the council’s top priorities. It also brings infrastructure improvements, such as new shops, roads and community facilities, which benefit the borough as a whole.

“This is about the borough’s future – our future generations – and it’s important that everyone has the opportunity to help shape this document, which will help ensure this growth and investment happens in a sustainable, co-ordinated way, meeting the needs and aspirations of communities.

“While the proposed overall housing target is likely to change again as more guidance and information is received from Government, the reduced figure is closer to the pace of housing delivery that we can achieve locally, and gives the community and council more control over planning decisions.”