PROTESTERS battling against plans for up to 300 homes on the edge of Mickleover say the area's roads, schools and doctors' surgeries will not be able to handle so many newcomers.
Commercial Estates Group has applied to South Derbyshire District Council for permission to build at Mickleover, off Etwall Road.
CEG has said the proposal "will help to relieve a significant housing shortfall in South Derbyshire".
But protesters say that the combination of the latest proposal, together with plans for homes at nearby Hackwood Farm, and Onslow Road, and a development off Radbourne Lane – where building work is under way – will be too much for local infrastructure.
Sue Huskins, 66, of Greenside Court, Mickleover, said a medical centre in the area had already closed its books to new patients.
And she said access plans for the site that would see traffic lights installed on the A516 could increase congestion and the chance of accidents on the road.
Mrs Huskins said the fields proposed for homes had been pasture since Medieval times.
Cynthia Allen, 65, also of Greenside Court, said there was already a lack of facilities in Mickleover.
She said: "We have just a small park off Vicarage Road, the only public toilets are in Tesco, there's nothing for young people.
"Our leisure areas are the paths and byways on the land they want to build on."
The area outlined in the planning application is not on the list of locations that the district council has earmarked for future housing.
This has not yet been finalised but, once it is, the likelihood of developers being refused planning permission for sites not on the list, will increase.
A spokeswoman for CEG said the site would be 30% low-cost housing, "which would provide 90 much-needed affordable homes for local people".
She said: "The scheme will also provide a significant amount of on-site public open space which will be available for use by the local community as well as future residents of the development.
"This is a sustainable proposal which includes new pedestrian and cycle links in order to encourage the use of non-car transport.
"Traffic surveys and highways analysis have highlighted that there is capacity on the local highway network to accommodate the vehicles arising from this proposal."
A district council spokesman said a decision on the proposal would be made "in the near future by delegated powers or committee".
