'Overwhelming' response to Lake District housing plan
The response to a consultation to identify suitable building sites in the Lake District National Park has been "overwhelming", planners have said.
It is estimated that up to 900 affordable homes will be needed in the area over the next 15 years.
During a two-month public consultation, about 1,000 people attended one of 30 drop-in sessions, and 2,500 others filed individual responses.
The authority said that a wide range of views had been raised.
A draft document will be produced by autumn 2012, and submitted to the government for formal examination.
Chris Warren, from the Lake District National Park Authority, said: "It has been a truly overwhelming response to the consultation.
"Throughout the consultation, a wide range of views have been expressed, both in support of and against the sites being considered.
"Now we need to consider all the issues raised by the public and examine all the sites to ensure we only allocate genuinely suitable sites for development."