A VISION of Craven as an increasingly prosperous place has been laid out in a new council document.

Craven District Council's three-year plan sets out its vision for the area and lists its top priorities for improvement.

It does not include everything the council will do, but it focuses on the issues of most importance.

They include making possible the provision of 290 homes per year, stimulating business growth with new employment land and improved transport.

It also looks at how the council can end its reliance on the Government revenue support grant, which is due to disappear by 2020.

Other priorities under 'enterprising Craven' are for improved business support, high quality broadband and improving the economic vitality of the market towns and villages.

The original four priorities included in previous plans have been reduced to three, and now include 'resilient communities' and 'financial sustainability'.

Resilient Craven combines the previous 'working with communities' and 'greener Craven',and will focus on reducing health and wellbeing inequalities and helping community groups achieve their goals. It will also look at reducing waste to landfill, increasing recycling and making Craven cleaner.

A section on 'financial sustainability' looks at how the council will cope with the ending of the Government revenue support grant in four years' time. It includes actions such as prioritising expenditure, generating additional income and maximising the council’s assets.

Council leader, Cllr Richard Foster (Cons), said: "We have agreed our vision is for Craven to be an increasingly prosperous place, with strong and vibrant communities that celebrate their unique rural and urban settings, and where all residents enjoy a good quality of life."

The council questioned residents on its priorities as part of its budget consultation process.

Cllr Foster added: "The overall response was positive. However, we have made some changes to our priorities in order to concentrate on the most crucial areas."

The plan has been given the backing of councillors and will now be finished off by chief executive, Paul Shevlin.