Plans for 2,500 homes in Gainsborough approved
Plans to build 2,500 homes in a Lincolnshire town have passed their first stage.
West Lindsey District Council has given outline planning permission for the homes to be built in Gainsborough.
Officials said the development, on land south of Foxby Lane, would include two schools, shops and a GP surgery.
The housing - which has to be approved by the government - is part of a scheme to build an extra 18,000 homes in the town during the next 20 years.
This would effectively double the size of Gainsborough.
The government has said a major expansion of population would regenerate the town.
Jeff Summers, chairman of the council's economic development and regeneration committee, said: "This is a milestone in the history of Gainsborough.
"I remember the good times in the 1960s and the not so good times in the 1980s and 90s. Now Gainsborough is on the up."
He added: "It will provide a major employment boost, about 1,500 jobs, in the construction stage but it also fits in with the wider regeneration of the town centre."