THE implications of a report into the blueprint for the future of the region to 2026 is to be considered by Devon County Council.

THE implications of a report into the blueprint for the future of the region to 2026 is to be considered by Devon County Council.

An independent panel was appointed last year by the Secretary of State, who invited more than 200 organisations to take part in a public hearing in Exeter about the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West.

The plan's details were studied over 10 weeks last summer. The panel's report has now been submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities, Hazel Blears.

The report sets out the main issues that need to be addressed in terms of housing, the economy and protecting the environment.

It also recognises the need to plan for 86,000 new homes in Devon from 2006 to 2026. This is an area that is particu-larly significant for East Devon, where greater increases are needed, including the need to increase the number of affordable houses built in the region from 7,500 per year to 10,000. The next stage will see the Secretary of State consider the panel's report, along with all of the previously submitted representations, with the aim of publishing the proposed changes in the spring.

There will then be a 12-week period of public consultation on the proposed changes, to which DCC and other interested parties will respond.