RIBBLE Valley residents have been urged to have their say on how the area should be developed.

Councillors have agreed to extend the deadline for residents' comments on Ribble Valley Borough Council's district-wide local plan review to January 4.

The views of local residents will then be used to guide and control development in the area until 2016.

A paper outlining the proposals was released in October and has helped to encourage debate on the key planning issues which will face the borough over the coming years, and parish councils, local residents, organisations and developers have already submitted a number of responses.

The aim of the plan is to help shape the way the borough will develop in the future, and it is hoped it will ensure local development needs are identified and provided for, whilst at the same time giving environmental protection.

Questions posed in the topic paper included: How should we balance development needs with countryside protection? How can we assist rural regeneration, and how can we best involve local people in the process?

Copies of the paper are available for inspection on level D at the borough council offices, local libraries and Clitheroe Tourist Information Office.

Or it can be accessed at www.ribblevalley.gov.uk or by writing to the Development Department, Ribble Valley Borough Council, Council Offices, Church Walk, Clitheroe, BB72RA.

Comments can also be sent to the above address or e-mailed to lpdev@ribblevalley.gov.uk