Representatives from Co-operative Estates and English Partnerships will meet officers and councillors – including ward councillors – to discuss plans to build the town on thousands of acres of land they own between Great Glen, Stoughton and Leicester.

The Government, which is planning to build three million new homes by 2016, are reviewing 50 eco-town plans submitted nationally and they will announce a short list of ten in the new year.

The Regional Spatial Strategy panel report is being released on Monday, setting out housing allocation in the district – which would be in addition to an eco-town.

Ward district councillor, Grahame Spendlove-Mason said: “There are questions that residents have been putting to me by the hour, such as, what is going to happen to the road system?

“It doesn’t bear thinking about. We are prepared to spill blood rather than let this go through.”

One of his chief concerns is that the allocation for housing in the district will be in addition to an eco-town, which alone would nearly double the number of houses in the district.

Co-op spokesman Phil Edwards said: “This will be a confidential meeting with Harborough District Council as part of consultations with local authorities in the area. We may be able to say a bit more about it next week once we have had those meetings.”

The meeting is being held behind closed doors because the information is commercially sensitive, but Thurnby councillor Simon Galton said there are a number of other eco town proposals online.

He said: “It is all very well briefing councillors but unless they are going to allow that information to become readily available to the press and public, it is not a lot of use.”

A spokesman from Harborough District Council said they would not be issuing a comment about the meeting until after it had taken place.