 The new development could see the expansion of Northampton |
A 3,500 signature petition against plans for up to 167,000 new homes in Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire is being handed to a government inquiry. A government study has said the houses should be built by 2031, but some residents believe the county would become an urban sprawl.
Protest group STOP, Stop the Over- development Plans for Northamptonshire, has gathered the petition's signatures.
It will hand it in at the start of the five-week hearing in Northampton.
'Population boom'
The inquiry on the expansion starts on Tuesday at Franklins Gardens in Northampton.
It will be chaired by a government-appointed inspector who will consider the effect of expansion on transport, the existing communities and the environment.
The proposals have sparked alarm among some residents who want to force a rethink on the numbers or, at least, elicit guarantees that facilities will be in place to cope with a "population boom".
STOP is also campaigning against the creation of a "linear city" joining up Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and Northampton, and the threat posed by the outward expansion of Northampton on historic nearby villages.
The government has said it is important to revitalise existing communities.
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