A group of parish councillors is protesting in parliament against plans to build almost 100,000 homes in Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes.

The government plans to build the new homes over the next 30 years to cope with regional growth.

The government-backed report says �8.3bn needs to be spent in funding the major growth of towns - including Northampton, Milton Keynes, Luton and Corby.

These have been targeted by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott as economic growth areas which need much more affordable housing.

Rural community

The government is recommending 30,000 new homes in Luton and 70,000 in Milton Keynes.

But opponents fear the volume of new homes will destroy the countryside.

Chairman of the parish council consortium Alf Murray said Bedfordshire was largely a rural community

"We are opposed to more houses. If the homes go ahead many small villages in Bedfordshire would be lost forever to the countryside."

The trip on Tuesday is the second occasion on which the councillors have travelled to London in an attempt to stop the homes.

At Downing Street two years ago the councillors handed in a petition with more than 4,000 signatures opposing the plans.