Plans to shape the future of development in three east Norfolk villages have been unanimously approved by councillors - with a fourth coming down the tracks.

Neighbourhood plans for Filby, Rollesby and Winterton were all given the green light at a Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) meeting on Wednesday, April 20.

Councillors also voted for a referendum to be held in Fleggburgh over a plan of its own, with Thursday June 16 earmarked as the date.

The documents - drawn up by working groups of residents and parish councillors, and each about 40 to 50 pages long - will serve as important tools for the villages when GYBC makes decisions about planning applications in their areas.

Each of the plans had already been approved by large majorities in referendums on February 24, with some 92pc in Filby, 77pc in Rollesby and 76pc in Winterton voting in favour of them.

The villages have used the documents to list several priorities for how and where homes and other infrastructure should be built.

Filby’s plan is focused around the village’s “rural character and special identity”, stating that the natural environment should be “a key consideration in all decisions about how Filby changes”.

Over half of respondents to a survey about the plan were said to have “felt strongly that there wasn’t a need for further new housing” in the parish.

The plan adds: “If there is any further housing it is important that it meets a local need in terms of the type and mix of houses provided…”

Rollesby’s plan meanwhile envisions a village with “a more balanced population, with housing for younger people and families as well as older residents”.

It says: “The village has grown but this has not been at the expense of having a rural and open feel with views into the open countryside.”

It notes that the village has been separated by the A149 road, which has resulted “in some ways, in two separate communities” and that housing between the two halves could be a good way to bridge the gap.

In heavily-touristed Winterton, its plan resolves that the community should have “a good balance between the needs of residents and those visiting for the day or longer”.

The plans produced by Filby and Winterton will each remain valid until 2030, with Rollesby’s staying valid until 2035.

For details of Fleggburgh’s neighbourhood plan, visit: https://www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/fleggburgh-neighbourhood-plan