Villagers are pressing to ensure that people with close links to the area are given priority for a proportion of the affordable homes built in their community.

The policy is set out in the draft version of the Knowle, Dorridge & Bentley Heath Neighbourhood Plan, which was considered by Solihull Council last night (Thursday).

The document, drawn up by a local forum, will help guide the future use and development of land in this locality up until 2033.

The draft discussed yesterday evening stipulated that half of all new affordable housing "shall be occupied by households with a strong local connection to the area."

This would apply when properties were first built and at the point they were reoccupied.

Ahead of the meeting, Solihull Council officers had said they acknowledged the reason for the policy, although some concerns were raised as to possible conflicts with the strategy in place across the wider borough.

Cllr Ian Courts, the cabinet member for managed growth, said he considered an allocation of 50 per cent "over the top" and made clear that homes could not be allowed to sit empty if there weren't enough people who met the plan's criteria.

Nonetheless, he argued residents were within their rights to ask "what was in it for them" if hundreds of new homes were built in an area and no provision made for those living nearby. He suggested a 25 per cent quota would be more appropriate and said that the local authority sympathised with the general principle.

"I think it's very reasonable that people there know they have a fighting chance of getting some of the affordable housing," he said.

"I'm not going to object to a policy that gives some priority in the terms that I've explained."

Concerns about people struggling to get on the housing ladder have been raised across the borough, although some of the most expensive postcodes fall inside the area that the plan will cover.

Gillian Griggs, a member of the Neighbourhood Plan's steering committee, said that affordable housing was a big issue.

"This is something that the community feels very strongly about [and it came out] in the consultation," she said.

Cllr Ade Adeyemo (Lib Dem, Lyndon) said it was important that any policy was not so restrictive that it had a detrimental impact on other areas of Solihull.

"The truth is that Knowle, Dorridge, Bentley Heath, Blythe are taking a disproportionate proportion of new housing relative to the rest of the borough, because that is where the land is.

"So if you then say 50 per cent then it's disproportionately restricting the people who need to come from other places."

Aside from housing, the plan also deals with issues such as conservation, green spaces, transport, education and community facilities.

Many of the policies have been drawn up in response to local concerns, such as difficulties with parking, the design of new housing developments and worries about the closure of retailers.

A six-week consultation on the draft plan will run until June 15. Once the document has been refined it will be passed to an independent examiner who will suggest further changes. The revised proposals will then be put out to a referendum.

Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs): Introduced under the Localism Act 2011, NDPs allow parish and town councils or neighbourhood forums to draw up a plan to help shape development in a specific area. Supporters say this gives local people more of a say in how their community develops, although critics believe the system is often "mis-sold" and documents can prove incompatible with the requirements of local authorities and central government.