GIVE us your land - that's the plea going out from Bournemouth property developers.

Landowners are being urged to help address the growing need for housing and employment sites in the town.

Peter Lamb, of Savills Wimborne Planning, says now is the perfect time for landowners to put forward potential sites for development.

Bournemouth council confirmed, yesterday, that its Local Plan - the blueprint setting out preferred future planning sites - will be fully reviewed later this year.

This plan, covering the period 2006 - 2026, sets out the need for 14,600 new homes in Bournemouth.

However, following the publication of the Eastern Dorset Housing Market Assessment - which sets out national guidelines - another 5,000 homes need to be built in Bournemouth by 2033.

This means, 19,600 new dwellings are needed to meet housing need, between 2013-2033.

Mr Lamb told the Echo: "The local authority needs to look boroughwide for new housing sites, and that will include brownfield and greenfield sites

"In terms of the sites that get allocated through local plans, it is usually the larger ones - those able to provide a number of dwellings, rather, for example, than smaller back garden plots.

"I would say the council will be leaning towards these larger sites."

When Bournemouth's Local Plan was first adopted in 2006 the independent planning inspector who examined the document made a recommendation it should be reviewed in 2017.

Bournemouth council planning and policy research manager Max Axford explained: "The council is performing and housing delivery is currently ahead of target.

"New draft housing requirements have now been released for the Eastern Dorset Housing Market Area that identify a need for 19,600 new dwellings in Bournemouth between 2013 and 2033.

"As part of the review we will be exploring all options available to us to enable the council to meet this revised target."

Meanwhile, Charlotte Sythes, of Savills' south coast development team, believes the key issue in Bournemouth will be the town's "restricted growth potential" because of the sea to the south and green belt to the north.

Charlotte added: "Brownfield development sites will therefore be key. However, in light of increased housing needs, particularly for family homes, I suspect many landowners on the edge of the existing settlement will also be re-looking at whether their land is now a viable location for housing."