A DOCUMENT detailing how many homes councillors think can be built in Worcestershire over the next 20 years has been sent to the Government and is up for public consultation.

Residents and businesses across the county are being urged to view the proposals and have their say on issues including housing, employment land provision, transport policies, waste management and development of town and city centres.

We previously reported in your Worcester News how the number of new homes that could be built across the region might not be as many as first feared.

Councillors on the West Midlands Regional Assembly have drawn up the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (WMRSS) phase two revision draft and stated that 10,500 extra homes can be built in Worcester, 9,100 in Wychavon and 4,900 in Malvern Hills.

While Malvern's allocation has stayed the same, it was previously thought up to 15,500 could be built in Worcester and 11,600 in Wychavon.

The figures match those outlined in option two out of three - the amount officers at Worcestershire County Council think is appropriate for the area - but about 7,300 of Worcester's allocation would still have to be built in Wychavon and Malvern Hills.

Proposals for the amount of employment land across the county totals 288 hectares, of which 183 hectares would have to be built across the three districts, with a large amount of Worcester's allocation having to go outside its boundaries. Those figures relate to the next 15 years.

Worcester has also been earmarked for 55,000 square metres of retail floorspace and the same amount for office floorspace to be built by 2021.

The figures are not set in stone and the Government will have the final say.

Public consultation on the revision draft will run until Friday, March 28.

Comments will be forwarded to an independent panel which will hold an examination in public, starting in September.

Documents can be viewed at www.wmra.gov.uk and hard copies or CDs can be obtained on 01212 450200 or by e-mailing wmrss@wmra.gov.uk

Comments must be submitted on the consultation response form and sent to WMRSS Panel Secretary, c/o Government Office for the West Midlands, 5 St Philips Place, Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 2PW, or e-mailed to