The Harborough District Council-owned land, between Naseby Close and Newcombe Street, includes an old pear and apple orchard and, until last Friday, several garages.

The Transition Town Harborough environmental group wants to stop the council building homes on the site and instead revive the orchard into a community garden and farming area.

Diggers moved onto the site last Wednesday to start clearing the garages and finished the job last Friday. The garages have been the source of controversy in the past as they have been used as a haven for drug users.

The council has indicated it wants to build affordable houses on the site although the council leader Alistair Swatridge says a final decision has yet to be made.

Darren Woodiwiss, organiser of Transition Town Harborough, has been urging people to write to the council in support of the allotment project.

He also invited Harborough MP Edward Garnier to visit the site last Friday, where he met with supporters of the campaign.

Mr Woodiwiss, of Newcombe Street, said: “The communities of Naseby Close and Newcombe Street were pleased to welcome Mr Garnier. He voiced his sympathies with our aims and listened to the background and aims of the proposal. He left after nearly an hour to a round of applause from the group.”

Transition Town Harborough was formed in 2007 to educate people on the effects of peak oil and climate change.

Its aim is to campaign for a move to a society using up far lower levels of energy.