A public consultation on where thousands of new homes could go in the heart of Norfolk in the next 18 years is to be launched this summer. More than 650 parcels of land, enough for 90,000 new homes, around the towns of Attleborough, Dereham, Swaffham and Watton and their surrounding villages, have been put forward to Breckland Council by land owners and developers.

A public consultation on where thousands of new homes could go in the heart of Norfolk in the next 18 years is to be launched this summer.

More than 650 parcels of land, enough for 90,000 new homes, around the towns of Attleborough, Dereham, Swaffham and Watton and their surrounding villages, have been put forward to Breckland Council by land owners and developers.

They range in size from a 212ha site - enough for a minimum of 4,600 homes - to small sites for one or two homes.

The government has said it wants to see 508,000 homes built in the region by 2021 as part of the East of England Plan.

It wants to see 80,000 of those in Norfolk, including 33,000 in the greater Norwich area and 15,200 in Breckland.

The land put forward in Breckland is far more than is needed.

Many have already been deemed unreasonable and look unlikely to go any further.

But now the public is to be asked what it thinks about the sites in a consultation to help form its local development framework - a planning blueprint, which will help decide where homes go up to 2026.

One is a massive 212ha site south of Attleborough, between the railway line, the B1077 and Puddledock village, put forward by Bidwells.

Most other sites put forward for Attleborough, already earmarked for some 4,000 homes in the council's plans, are south and south east of the town, either side of the B1077 and along a belt of land south of the A11.

All the sites put forward are to be put to the council's policy, development and review panel tomorrow, before going before the cabinet and full council and then out to public consultation.

Any comments will be taken into consideration with the council's overall plan for the district, which currently sets out growth of 19,000 new homes between 2001 and 2026.

About 6,500 have already been built, its says, 6,000 are earmarked for Thetford and 4,000 for Attleborough. This leaves just 1,900 to be found in the other towns and villages.

Dereham's largest proposed site is 26ha bordering Yaxham Road and Dumpling Green in Toftwood, submitted by Hopkins Homes. At 22 homes per hectare this would see 572 new homes.

Other sites are either side of the A47 at the east and west of the town, land between Green Lane and Cemetery Road, a site around Dereham Town Football Club and land south of Norwich Road to the east of the railway line.

Swaffham's largest site is 65.8ha south of the town between the A1065 and Cley Road. Most other smaller pockets of land are adjacent to the A47 north of the town centre and along Lynn Road towards the A47 slip road.

Watton also has proposed sites dotted all the way around the town near to its edges.

Great Ellingham would be tripled in size if all the 15 sites put forward for the consultation were developed.

Shipdham has 32 sites put forward, mostly for housing, including allotment land off Dereham Road.

Swanton Morley has three large sites, of about six acres each, put forward by Strutt and Parker, along with a number of smaller sites.