HAVE your say on future development in Central Bedfordshire, with workshops in Chicksands.

Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) is asking for your views on the Development Strategy - a new planning policy document which will set out how much growth and development will need to be planned for, in areas such as housing, employment and retail. It will also suggest broadly where this should go.

The strategy will also set out detailed policies to help determine planning applications.

Once adopted, the Development Strategy will replace the current Core Strategy in the northern part of Central Bedfordshire and the Local Plan and Core Strategy in the south.

As part of a public consultation, the council will be holding workshops at its offices in Chicksands on March 8 and 14, from 6pm to 9pm, to discuss the strategy.

The workshops are open to all, but places are limited. If you would like to attend, email LDF@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

There will also be a short questionnaire for people to complete. The survey seeks views on issues such as the number of new homes and jobs the council should be planning for, and will be available from libraries and online at www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/consultations

As part of work on the Development Strategy, the council is running a Call for Sites exercise, where developers, landowners and other interested parties are invited to submit details of sites they would like to see developed in future.

Cllr Ken Matthews, CBC’s executive member for sustainable communities strategic planning, said: “We want Central Bedfordshire to continue to be a great place to live and work and the strategy should help us to secure this.

“We know our residents are concerned about how their children and grandchildren will be able to get on the property ladder, how they will get work, and whether the character of our communities will be maintained in the future. We share these concerns and look forward to working with local people to develop a strategy that delivers the right balance of protecting our heritage and developing our future.”

The informal consultation will run until March 28. A draft Development Strategy will be published for comment in July.