The Mail revealed on its front page last week how landowners Co-operative Estates and English Partnerships are submitting a bid to the Government for a possible 20,000-home eco-town on thousands of acres of countryside near Great Glen and Stoughton.
Eco-towns are run on the latest green technology and theoretically operate with a neutral carbon footprint. Harborough MP Edward Garnier this week raised concerns about the move in the House of Commons.

He added: “This is not brownfield land, it’s farmland. I urge my constituents to complain loudly and immediately about this because once the proposals gain momentum the Government will put everything in our way to prevent us succeeding.”

Leicestershire and district councillor Sarah Hill added that the Co-op wanted to build a town on its land near Great Glen back in the late 1980s. The controversial £400m-plan was shelved after mass opposition from villagers.

The Co-op’s bid is one of about 50 eco-town proposals the Government is considering.

l WIND turbines, solar power or other environmentally-friendly energy sources are being considered for Harborough district’s schools.

Leicestershire County Council, which runs the county’s schools, is looking at improving energy efficiency for its school buildings.

Talking exclusively to the Mail, a county council property spokesman said: “Energy efficiency and sustainability are a key element of the county council’s corporate strategy. The details of how best this can be achieved are still to be developed, although clearly, the use of wind turbines will be a consideration.

“However, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and other strategies, for example, photovoltaics, solar or geo-thermal either on their own or in combination should also be taken into account.”

Schools will be given advice and support by the council if they want to undertake their own provision in the interim, the spokesman added.