Plans for the new town include building approximately 9,500 new homes, with a new town centre, employment areas and schools to create a community of up to 24,000 people.

Sustainability is a fundamental feature of the new town, which will incorporate a range of measures to deliver increasing levels of energy, water and waste efficiency.

Public consultation on the plans will begin on 7th January 2008 and will last around 12 weeks till the end of March.

The target date for an outline planning permission is the end of 2008.

Work could start within a few months of this and construction of the first homes could commence in the summer of 2009.