The Highland Council is to launch its plans for the future of the Inner Moray Firth area.

The proposals could see more than 17,000 homes and 11,000 jobs delivered over the next 20 years and beyond.

Now, the public is being encouraged to have their say on the Inner Moray Firth Proposed Local Development Plan (LDP) which represents the Council's view on how and where the Inner Moray Firth area should grow.

The Proposed Plan directs the majority of future development towards existing towns and the City of Inverness and identifies where new infrastructure should be located to support future development.

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From 1 November 2013, a six-week public consultation on the plans will run and will be able to view from the Council's website, Highland Council Service Points and libraries in the Inner Moray Firth area.

Councillor Thomas Prag, Chair of Planning, Environment and Development Committee explained: "The Proposed Plan shows the Council's ambition for delivering sustainable economic growth and improvements to communities in the area.

"It's really important that people tell us their views about the policies and proposals in the Plan so that they can be considered both by the Council and an independent Reporter who will hold an Examination on the Plan about a year from now."

Over the past year, the Planning and Development Service has been working closely with other key public agencies, the development industry, statutory consultees and the general public to prepare the Proposed Plan. This includes almost 1,000 comments submitted during the previous stage of the process known as the Main Issues Report. Once adopted, the final Plan will replace the existing local proposals across the area and update some parts of the Highland-wide LDP.

The closing date for the consultation is 13 December 2013.

(JP/CD)