A major plan that will shape housing and industry for years to come moved a step closer yesterday.

The Local Plan is the Council’s long-term development blueprint and sets out how much land should be earmarked for housing and jobs by 2030.

Yesterday, the Council Executive approved the plan’s core strategy, which sets out the district’s housing target and the Council’s priorities for where development should take place and what it should be like.

In a change to plans made in 2011, the authority has cut its long-term house-building target by thousands after pressure from campaigners, including supporters of the Telegraph & Argus Save Our Green Spaces campaign.

The target has been reduced from 45,500 homes to 42,100 homes.

But some campaigners spoke at the meeting over their concerns that greenbelt land near Holme Wood and Tong would be lost under the plan.

The plan will go before the full Council and will have another public consultation before it is sent to Government planning inspectors for examination next year.