More agricultural land around Great Yarmouth is likely to be needed for housing over the next 20 years, the area's planning officials have said.
They are currently working on the borough's 'local plan' - a document setting out where homes should be built.
In a consultation ahead of the latest version, they say that whether properties are built in nearby villages or on the outskirts of the town some will need to go on farmland.
The consultation is expected to begin in early January.
Great Yarmouth’s current local plan recommends that around 65pc of development take place in Yarmouth, Gorleston, Bradwell and Caister.
The rest of the borough’s villages are expected to host the remaining 35pc of new homes.
Among other questions, the consultation will ask residents whether that balance seems fair, or whether to skew the distribution towards the borough’s more urban or rural areas.
A draft copy of the consultation points out that growth in the borough’s more urban areas means there is “less need for people to travel due to the better service provision which reduces congestion and carbon emissions and facilitates people to walk and cycle to work, which helps support a healthier population”.
It warns however that there is limited space for building within the existing town centres and that some sites would be at risk of flooding.
Housing allocated to Gorleston and Bradwell may therefore mean expanding outwards onto the agricultural land which borders the built-up area, the document says.
On the other hand, the consultation’s authors say that rural growth “can help support existing services and facilities in villages, such as schools, pubs and shops and ensure they remain viable”.
They add: “House prices are generally less affordable in rural areas and increased development can allow for more affordable homes to be built.”
But they admit that rural growth will generally mean the creation of more car-dependent communities and that it will mostly mean having to develop on agricultural land.
Council officers estimate the borough will require some 7,060 new homes to be built in the 20 years spanning 2021 to 2041 in order to meet demand - an equivalent of 353 new homes per year.
Following the six-week public consultation next year, the local plan will go through a re-drafting exercise before being submitted for examination by a national planning inspector.
The council hopes to adopt the final version of the plan in the spring of 2025.
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