CHANGES to the planning blueprint for Wiltshire have been released and a series of roadshows arranged for the public to give their views.

The Wiltshire and Swindon Structure Plan originally covered the period up to 2011 but the county council plans to extend it to 2016.

As a result, 13 alterations to the structure plan are proposed, the most notable being an increase in housing, more land for business use and the future expansion of Swindon.

The county is proposing that an additional 60,000 homes be built in Wiltshire with almost half of those homes being built in Swindon.

The Kennet district is earmarked to have the lowest number of new houses with 5,250 being built by 2016.

But of the 5,250, 2,730 homes have been built or are waiting to be built and a further 1,100 homes have been allocated sites in the Kennet District Local Plan leaving 1,420 to be built by 2016.

Environmentalists may welcome the county council's stance that no housing should be built on greenfield land in Kennet. The locations of where the remaining housing should go is left to Kennet District Council to decide.

Running alongside housing allocations in the structure plan is land for businesses to build offices and factories. Again Kennet has the lowest amount of land allocated, with 60 hectares proposed, which is eight per cent of the planned 720 hectares.

David Rapley, strategic plan manager at the county council, said: "We are following the advice coming down from central Government that most of the growth in housing should be in the principal urban areas and that is why Swindon is proposed to have the lion's share as Swindon is where the biggest growth in jobs will occur."

A substantial amount of land for employment use 13 hectares is earmarked on former Ministry of Defence land at Ludgershall in an initiative with the Rural Development Agency.

The revised structure plan can be inspected at libraries, the county council office in Trowbridge, district council offices and on the internet at www.wiltshire.gov.uk or www.swindon.gov.uk

The road shows are being held at:

November 13 between 10am and 5pm Yeoman Room, Corn Exchange, Devizes.

November 13 between 2pm and 8pm Pilgrim Centre, Regent Circus, Swindon.

November 14 between 10am and 6pm Town Hall, High Street, Chippenham.

November 18 between 10am and 6pm Guildhall, Market Place, Salisbury.