The proposed blueprint for Aberdeen's development over the next 13 years has been approved by Aberdeen City Councillors.

The Aberdeen Local Development Plan – Proposed Plan, Supplementary Guidance and Action Programme identifies land to meet the housing allowances and employment land allocations laid out in the recently published Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan [2009]. It also contains policies which meet the aims and objectives of the Structure Plan.

The Plan, which gives the Council's vision for the future development of the city, will now be published for public scrutiny, before possibly being amended to reflect the public response to it and submitted to the Scottish Ministers.

Aberdeen is to accommodate at least half of the new housing and employment land needed to meet the strategic needs of the North-east over the next 20 years. This means that greenfield sites for 21,000 new homes and 175 hectares of employment land are required up to 2030.

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The plan sets out the potential for the expansion of suburban communities, providing new ways of developing areas guided by detailed masterplans prepared in consultation with local communities.

It is broken down into several sections, each of which lays out the development opportunities available in the city.

Councillor Kate Dean, Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure convener, said: "This is a very important step forward for Aberdeen. The city's planners have put a huge amount of work into preparing this vital document for Aberdeen's future, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

"Most of the housing land allocated in the previous local development plan has been used up and Aberdeen is crying out for new, affordable homes and more business land so that the city can continue to thrive and grow.

"This proposed Local Development Plan paves the way for that housing and business land to be made available, attracting more families, individuals and businesses into Aberdeen.

"It is absolutely essential that we have the right policies in place, as well as the land allocations, to ensure that we deliver sustainable communities. I am very pleased that the Council has backed the Plan at this crucial stage."

(GK/KMcA)