Staffordshire Moorlands District Council's adoption of the local plan "is great news for all those that live, work and visit here", the authority's leader has said.

The Local Plan - the district's key planning document which will shape development in the Staffordshire Moorlands up to 2033 - has been formally adopted by the Council.

Biddulph Nub News reported previously how councillors voted to adopt the plan at a meeting earlier this month.

The plan includes details of over 900 new houses that are to be built in Biddulph between now and 2033, with land being removed from the Green Belt to make room for some of these.

The authority says the plan "allocates land for new housing, employment and other uses and protects important assets such as green belts and conservation areas as well as setting the policies which will be used to determine planning applications".

The district council's leader, Cllr Sybil Ralphs, said today that the plan means the Moorlands is in charge of its own destiny.

She said: "The adoption of the Local Plan for the Staffordshire Moorlands is great news for all those that live, work and visit here - it means we are in charge of our own destiny in relation to how the District is developed in the coming years.

"This has been one of the most significant projects we have undertaken in recent years and one which affects every area of the District so this is a great achievement.

"I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in helping us reach this point - not least our staff who have worked so hard to complete this major piece of work."

The authority aims to adopt the plan in order to demonstrate to Government that it can provide an adequate number of new houses in the area over the coming years.

Upon demonstrating this, the council can avoid being subjected to severe planning penalties, which the Government can impose on local authorities who cannot show that they have the appropriate housing provisions set out.

The district council's officers had warned in the past that without a Local Plan in place, areas of the Moorlands could be vulnerable to developers, who could take advantage of the situation to get permission for housing developments in less suitable locations.

The full Plan and the accompanying policies map will be published on the Council's website later this month.

Cllr Edwin Wain, Cabinet Member for Planning, Development and Property, added: "This is a milestone moment and the culmination of an enormous effort over the last six years which has included several periods of public consultation and many redrafts to take account of the comments we received from residents and businesses as well as public examination of the plan by a Government inspector.

"People can now be assured that planning applications from house extensions to major residential developments will be determined in line with the policies and principles set out in the Plan which has been widely consulted on before being agreed."