The Co-operative Group wants to build a 15,000-home eco-town on countryside it owns between Great Glen and Stoughton and the proposal was shortlisted by the Government last April.

After months of reports and debates, Leicestershire County Council's ruling cabinet voted on Tuesday to object to the Co-op's plan which will be put forward as the council's official position and will be sent to Government on March 6.

Nick Rushton, the council's deputy leader, said: "We are objecting to Pennbury because it's in the wrong location, we don't have all the key facts and we have major concerns about the impact on transport, regeneration and the economy."

It also raised concerns about jobs, the process, a lack of economic strategy and the impact on neighbouring areas.

The council worked with other local authorities and expert consultants to study the Co-op's plans in detail and also commissioned a scrutiny review panel to look into the proposals.

Dozens of campaigners against the Co-op's plan held a protest outside County Hall on Tuesday while the cabinet debated the issue.

Kevin Feltham, the chairman of the Campaign Against the Stoughton Co-op Eco-Town, said: "We have been campaigning against the Government's and Co-op's proposals for over a year and this is absolutely fantastic news to finally get a clear decision objecting to Pennbury from the principal authority in Leicestershire."

l The Department for Communities and Local Government, which will rule in the spring on which eco-towns get the go ahead, is holding an interactive roadshow about Pennbury tomorrow and on Saturday.

It will be held at Great Glen Village Hall in Main Street between 4pm and 8pm tomorrow (Friday) and at Parklands Leisure Centre in Oadby on Saturday from 10am to 5pm.

l The next meeting of Market Harborough Civic Society takes place on Wednesday, February 25 at 7.30pm at the Baptist Church Hall, Manor Walk, Coventry Road.

The speaker will be Graham Ramsbottom of the Co-operative in Manchester about Eco-towns. Visitors are welcome.