The long-awaited St Albans Local Plan could move a step closer to being submitted tonight (September 23), with a meeting set to decide on next steps.

The plan is set to outline the future of development across the district, with sites being picked out for the building of new homes, schools and infrastructure. 

It was due to be submitted by next April, but the timetable has been accelerated by July's General Election and the new government's focus on housebuilding.

The Labour government says councils have a "moral imperative" to build more homes, announcing a return of housing targets that could see the number of new homes in St Albans doubled.

Because of this, St Albans City and District Council has accelerated its timetable, with a planning policy and climate committee meeting scheduled for next month brought forward to tonight.

Councillors will consider the current draft of the plan and decide whether its fit to move to the next stage - a six-week public consultation.

The council is hoping to submit the plan to Westminster by the end of November.

The issue of whether or not to build homes on Green Belt land has been a hotly contested topic both locally and nationally, with Britain's deepening housing crisis clashing with environmental concerns.

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Last month, council leader Cllr Paul de Kort said: "The council must have a robust new Local Plan in place as soon as possible, especially given the government’s proposed reforms.

"A vast amount of work has been done over the last three years to bring us to the point where we have sites that could provide the 15,000 homes for this district that we were required to put forward."

For critics of the slow progress, the bringing forward of tonight's meeting is 'too little, too late', with Conservative councillor Matt Cowley accusing the Liberal Democrat council of "years of dither and delay".

Both of the district's Liberal Democrat MPs have expressed concerns about the new housing targets, with Daisy Cooper (St Albans) criticising a return of what she calls a "top-down" approach, while Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) has told this newspaper that residents need "a local plan for local people".

The meting begins at 7pm and will be livestreamed at https://stalbans.public-i.tv/core/portal/home