Residents will be asked to help a council decide where thousands of houses and businesses should be built in the Watford Borough.

Watford Borough Council has said it will have to build a minimum of 6,500 homes and create at least 7,000 jobs between 2006 and 2031.

The council’s cabinet approved the draft version of part two of its Local Plan, which goes out to public consultation on Monday.

The Elected Mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill said: "This is about shaping the town over the next 20 years, it may seem dry as bones but it is an important document, so please have a look at it.

"We did not have to make many changes to our initial plan and that is because we have got it done, as I did not want Watford to be at the mercy of predatory developers.

"We cannot say ‘no development here’, because there is nowhere in the country able to say that - other than on Green Belt land.

"If Watford is to continue to survive and thrive, people must be able to find jobs and be able to find a house. 

"We want to get the right kind of development in the right places. If you are interested in where there will be new homes, or you want to influence the development of the town centre, your views count."

Houses could be built in Chalk Hill, Pinner Road, Lower Derby Road, First Avenue, Vicarage Road, Queens Avenue, Bowmans Garages and land at the Town and Country Club, Halsey House in Rosslyn Road.

Other sites earmarked for housing development includes Rickmansworth Road, Cassiobury Park Avenue, the former Bill Everett Community Centre in Leggatts Way and Croxley View.

Housing will also be delivered on ‘mixed use sites’ including the long-mooted Watford Health Campus project as well as approximately 1500 homes on land surrounding Watford Junction train station. 

The Western Gateway, The Brow, North Watford Library and Health Facilities and the former petrol station on the Dome roundabout have also be identified as potential mixed development sites.

The council said additional office and business space will need to be built across the borough to accommodate the increased workforce.

New jobs could therefore potentially be available on land in Ascot Road on an enlarged Watford Business Park as well as well as in Imperial Way, Clarendon Road and the BT depot in Reeds Crescent.

Watford Borough Council’s Managing Director Manny Lewis said: "We are working hard to ensure Watford has a strong and vibrant town centre.  

"We don’t want any empty shops - so in our plan in key locations, we have made it easier for shops to become restaurants - which all seem to be doing fantastically well at the bottom of town. 

"We also want a family friendly town centre, so we have drawn up a new policy to avoid clustering of betting and money lending shops which you have told us is a concern."

The Local Plan also contains new planning policies - including designated Green Belt land, sites for Gypsies and travellers and amendments to the town centre noise policy.

For more information about the Local Plan or to take part in the public consultation visit www.watford.jdi-consult.net/localplan.    

Residents can also email their comments by quoting the policy reference number and sending them to strategy@watford.gov.uk 

The consultation begins on December 15 and closes on February 4.