TWO new growth areas in Exeter have been included in a planning blueprint which looks set to get city council backing.

Masterplans for the future development of Monkerton/Hill Barton and Newcourt will go before the council's Executive on September 28.

The plans were the subject of public consultation earlier this spring. People were given an opportunity to have their say on the plans for the two new major developments.

The Masterplans will guide development in the major growth areas of the city for the next 15 years.

A city council spokeswoman said: "It is expected that Newcourt will need to accommodate a further 2,300 dwellings on top of the 1,200 which already have consent and that Monkerton/Hill Barton will have to accommodate some 2,500 dwellings.

"The number of new homes is driven by figures set out in the council's Core Strategy.

"Initially the Core Strategy was planning for 12,000 homes in Exeter but the Government's Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) indicated 15,000.

"Now that the Government has announced that it is to abolish RSSs, the City Council is proposing its original figure of 12,000.

"The houses in the Masterplans will satisfy local need.

"The Masterplans outline the infrastructure requirements of these new developments looking at schools, community facilities, transport infrastructure and energy supplies.

"There will also be five hectares of employment land at Monkerton/Hill Barton and 16 hectares in Newcourt.

"Included in the Masterplans is the provision of traveller sites, one to the rear of the Met Office and the other on the north side of the Topsham Road, adjacent to Topsham Football Club.

"These sites reflect the views of people who responded to a local survey of needs and will make it easier for the Council to respond to unauthorised encampments.

"Planning applications are expected from landowners imminently and the Masterplans will be adopted by the council to inform decisions on these applications."