Dorset must 'take control of its own destiny' by pushing forward and creating its own local plan, a councillor has said.

Members of the shadow Dorset Council executive committee unanimously voted in favour of progressing with a Dorset Council Local Plan with the intention of adopting it by April 2023.

It will allocate land for housing and employment and is aimed at providing certainty to residents as well as the development industry.

A task and finish group of councillors will oversee the work of the local plan and report to the Dorset cabinet, while existing already carried out for current district local plan reviews will be used to shape the new plan.

The aim is for it to be adopted ahead of the council elections in May 2024.

Cllr Spencer Flower said: "A local plan is high on the agenda of any council because it's something that really hits local communities.

"From my perspective, the most important thing is that we're in control of our own destiny. It's a matter that's got to be high on the agenda of the new council. "We need a sound local plan that we can put forward to a planning inspector."

Cllr Gary Suttle said he "couldn't stress" the importance of pushing ahead with completing a local plan for Dorset.

He said: "We must make sure it's done as quickly as possible.

"A local plan brings out the worst in people...As we will discover, everybody in Dorset wants housing as long as it's nowhere near them, and that's the greatest problem."

Between eight and ten full time equivalent planning professionals will work on the local plan over the next few years, and £975,000 from existing reserve budgets will be used to carry out the local plan work.

A report presented to councillors at a meeting of the shadow executive at South Walks House on Monday (11), said that extra finances would be needed if individual plan reviews were also continued.