A blueprint for thousands of new houses in north Essex has been given the green light by the government and is now set to be formally adopted by community leaders.

Colchester's local plan will see more than 15,000 new homes built in the next decade.

According to the draft plan up to 2033, the local authority has a housing target of 920 homes a year - and is aiming to approve sites for 14,720 to 15,970 properties on land now identified as fit for housing.

Since the plan period started five years ago, 4,075 homes have already been built and permission has been granted for 6,155 properties.

This leaves 5,740 new allocations which are set out in the plan. The bulk of these, 2,201 houses, are planned for the Colchester Urban Area, but there are some smaller developments planned for rural parts of the borough.

These include 120 homes allocated in Copford and Copford Green and 200 allocated in West Mersea.

Notable areas which have been allocated for development in the plan include Middlewick Ranges, a rare piece of acid grassland currently owned by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.

The local plan has allocated 1,000 houses to be built here, a move which has been controversial among residents and campaigners worried about the destruction of green spaces and biodiversity as a result of development.

The ABRO site in Colchester town centre has also been allocated for development, a former army barracks which intersects with the remains of the UK’s only known Roman Circus.

Although the number of houses is left unspecified, 3.8 Hectares in the disused barracks would become a residential development according to the plan, with the area containing the Roman Circus left as open space.

Developments for employment space, such as offices, industrial buildings and shops, are also allocated in the plan - 32 hectares across the borough for these uses by 2033.

Other important policies set out in the plan include 10% biodiversity net gain and 30% affordable housing in each development.

Colchester Borough Council’s local plan committee will scrutinise the draft plan at a meeting on June 13 and be asked to vote on whether to recommend the plan to the full council for formal adoption.