The next stage of the new local plan which will decide where up to 35,000 new houses will be built across south Warwickshire has been delayed.

Councils were supposed to launch a public consultation this November, but residents will not be able to have their say until January next year.

The 'Issues and Options Consultation' will give locals the opportunity to voice their opinions on some of the key decisions that will guide the new plan.

But the councils said it will be delayed due to "delays in the release of the relevant 2021 census data".

Warwick District Council and Stratford-on-Avon District Council are still working on the plan together, despite the two councils calling an end to their merger plans earlier this year.

A statement on the South Warwickshire Local Plan website said: "The publication of the South Warwickshire Local Plan Issues and Options Consultation had been scheduled for November 2022; however this is now subject to a short delay.

"It is now expected to be presented to the two councils' joint committee in December, with a six-week consultation period commencing in early January 2023.

"The reason for this is a delay in the availability of a key piece of evidence to inform the plan - the Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA) - which was affected by delays in the release of relevant 2021 census data."

Following an initial public consultation last year, some 555 sites were identified for new housing by residents and businesses across South Warwickshire.

They are currently being assessed by the two councils which have stressed that the published list "is in no way an endorsement by either council that the site is either suitable for development or will be included within the local plan itself".

The new plan, which will run until 2050, is not expected to be put into practice until late 2025.