A blueprint for future development in St Edmundsbury – including about 6,000 new homes in Bury St Edmunds – is due to be signed off tonight.

Following more than two years’ work, St Edmundsbury’s Vision 2031 documents are set to overcome the final hurdle when they go before the full council later. This major piece of work sets out the vision for the borough and, once adopted, it will become the St Edmundsbury Local Plan.

Consultation began in 2011 and an independent planning inspector held a public inquiry into the draft documents in January and February this year.

The plans pave the way for five major housing developments in Bury; at Moreton Hall, Westley, and in the north-west, north-east and south-east of the town.

Tonight, St Edmundsbury’s full council is being asked to adopt the Vision 2031 documents for Bury, Haverhill and the rural areas.

In a report which is being submitted to the meeting, St Edmundsbury Borough Council leader John Griffiths said: “Today, with your support, we may well reach the end of a long, and extremely interesting, journey and I very much hope that my councillor colleagues will formally approve our Vision 2031 documents.

“These will help guide us in managing change throughout Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and our rural areas in the coming years.”

He said the documents, if approved, would provide a framework for “the growth and change which we know is inevitable in St Edmundsbury, putting us, and those we represent locally, firmly in the driving seat (and less vulnerable to speculative planning applications from others).

“It is not something we have done alone and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have played their part in developing this vision. The process started in 2011 and the thousands of comments we have received, even if we could not, of course, please everyone, has shaped Vision 2031.”

Campaigners have been delighted the plans allocate the Leg of Mutton land in Bury “for use as amenity public open space or informal outdoor recreation”.

Andrew Hinchley, chairman of the Bury Water Meadows Group, said if Vision 2031 was signed off tonight it means the group will be able to progress its scheme for the site, including creating a wildflower meadow and extending the woodland.

Anyone interested in joining the group is invited to attend a meeting at the Quaker Meeting House in Bury on October 16 at 7pm.