PEOPLE in York have just more than a week left to have their say on a major building plan for the city.

The draft Local Plan - currently out to public consultation - sets out how many new homes should be built in the city, and where they should go, over the next 15 years.

It also deals with employment space - land where businesses can expand - but the end of the consultation period is approaching.

Council bosses are urging people not to miss the chance to have their say.

Cllr David Carr, leader of City of York Council, said: “This draft plan will support York’s economic growth and determine how our city changes over the next 15 years and beyond.

“We want to listen to voices from across the city, so please add yours to the hundreds who’ve already had their say.”

The plan “affects us all”, interim deputy leader Cllr Andrew Waller added.

“It shows where houses and jobs will be created, and how we will encourage sustainable developments which are good for people and the environment," he said.

“So whether it is through Our City, at a library or online, please take a look at the plans and tell us what you think.”

The draft plan has not been without controversy, with a major row erupting over the total number of new homes it allows.

Last month it emerged fresh government housing figures said York needed significantly more houses than the plan sets out, and some opponents said this created a real risk York’s plan would be overturned by government officials.

The draft plan includes space for 867 new homes every year until 2032, but fresh figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said the city actually needs 1,070 a year.

Concerns have also been raised around three new “garden villages”, and whether they would become suburbs reliant on York; and plans to build on the former Manor School fields have been met with dismay from neighbours who want a new park for the area.

The consultation closes on Monday, October 30.

Information has been sent to homes in a special Our City newsletter with freepost response forms. Details are also online at www.york.gov.uk/localplan, in all the city’s libraries and the council’s West Offices HQ.