People living in Rugby should be allowed to have the final say on whether thousands of new homes are built near the town, councillors have argued.

Members of Rugby Borough Council are campaigning against plans to classify 960 acres of land at the BT mast sites as “brownfield.”

Warwickshire County Council has ruled that the land should be earmarked for redevelopment.

Thousands of new homes, schools, shops, industrial units and even a railway station could be built as the area is transformed into a new town between Clifton, Lilbourne and Hillmorton.

Along with other developments it could swell the population of the borough to over 100,000.

But borough councillors say they should be allowed to make the final decision on how the land should be reused after proper consultation with residents and other interested groups.

Cllr Ray Kirby, chairman of the Planning Committee, said:

“Identifying this land for development would be a major decision for Rugby.

“We must ensure that local people can have their say and be satisfied that it is the right thing to do.

“The County Council talks of it as a brownfield site, but it’s covered in grass and has sheep on it.

“We know that there are major structures on the site both above and below ground, but there are other potential brownfield sites in the urban area and these should take priority.”

Cllr Kirby, whose committee agreed its formal opposition to the proposal recently, added: