From the highest point of the village of Houghton on the Hill, you can see the rolling fields of the Stoughton estate stretching out below. A vista of golden yellow and bluey-green criss-crossed by hedgerows, this is rural England at its finest.

But the idyll is under threat. An “eco-town” called Pennbury is to be built right in the middle of what is currently home to an array of wildlife from the great crested newt to four types of owl. “This is the lungs of Leicestershire,” says Kevin Feltham, leader of Cascet, an action group opposed to the town. “There are public rights of way here and it has long been a fantastic place to take the family.”