More than 11,000 new homes could be built in Brighton and Hove during the next two decades.

Councillors are being asked to agree a draft target which would see an average of 553 homes built in the city every year until 2026.

The target, which will be discussed at a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council's environment committee next week, will eventually form part of the South-East Plan, a blueprint to manage the growth and development of the region which local authorities and other government agencies in the region will have to follow.

In July, the South East England Regional Assembly set a draft target of 28,900 new homes every year for the next 20 years across the region.

The next round of consultation will determine how the region-wide housing figure is divided between individual local authorities.

Brighton and Hove is proposing to continue with the city's present rate of growth which would mean 11,052 new homes built over 20 years.

The figure has been calculated in part by analysing existing sites identified for housing in the city's Local Plan and past trends of housing developments which emerge from individual planning applications.

Sites for 1,000 of these homes have not yet been identified but the council is confident land will become available, based on past rates of development.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, chairwoman of the council's environment committee, said: "Once the draft figure is approved, it will be the public's turn to have their say on the proposed allocation in Brighton and Hove."

If the figure is approved, consultation will begin in mid-September. The final draft figure for the city will be decided by the council's policy and resources committee in December.