PART of Worcestershire is to stage its very own referendum - with people asked to have a say on a major blueprint over new housing.

North Claines Parish Council has drawn up a 78-page document on how it wants the area to develop by 2031 after years of work.

The authority's 'Neighbourhood Plan' has been put together to try and resist unwanted development and protect its green spaces, at a time when there is serious pressure to provide more homes.

But it will only get the nod if a majority of voters back it in a referendum tomorrow, with the blueprint arriving at its most crucial point.

The huge dossier includes provision for up to 250 homes at Gwillam's Farm and 120 properties off Station Road and Sling Lane - effectively enlarging North Claines by 41 per cent, with the parish having 900 houses now.

But the Neighbourhood Plan is a bid to fend off unwanted development elsewhere, with a significant amount of its content focusing on the importance of protecting its rural environment.

The area sits just outside Worcester and includes settlements like Bevere, Fernill Heath, Lower Town and Porters Mill, with residents asked to vote tomorrow.

Mark Sainsbury, the parish council's chairman, said: "The council and residents of North Claines have worked as one to determine how we want our community to look for decades to come.

"Development of all types is an inevitable part of modern life, but if the majority of people vote 'yes' in the referendum we'll have a real say in what type of development happens, where it happens and what it contributes to our community."

Andy McManus, the vice-chair, warned that people in the area should not think the plan is about "encouraging more housing".

"Understandably, residents can wrongly this plan is about encouraging more housing, and this couldn't be further from the truth," he said.

"It's about setting a standard for development and making sure we've an opportunity to get the type of homes, better equipped schools, facilities and transport links we need, but which isn't always what developers want."

Polling cards have gone out to inform people in the parish of the vote, and their nearest polling station.

The blueprint matches up with the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP), a document spelling out where up to 28,370 homes can go in Worcester, Wychavon and Malvern by 2030.