The latest housing developments around Braunstone have led to fears of overcrowding and heavier congestion.

One new development has almost doubled its number of new housing and has raised concerns that other developments may follow suit.

Thorpe Astley housing development, in the north of Braunstone, has had the proposed amount of new housing increased from 1200 to 1900 homes.

It is now feared that the new Lubbesthorpe development near Leicester Forest East, with a proposed 4500 new homes, may also grow.

Phil Fox, a Braunstone Town councillor, said: “We don’t want our green lungs taken away and to be subsumed into a huge scrabbling mess.

“We’ve had our turn at heavy development; there should be more new housing out in the villages where infrastructure is already in place and there is a need for new housing.”

Despite this, Blaby District Council has decided that the sites chosen for the housing developments are suitable and that they also meet government proposals for new housing.

A spokesperson for Blaby District Council said: “We are required by central government to identify land for 7,600 new homes to be built across the district by 2026.

“While villages will take some of this development the East Midlands Regional Plan says at least two-thirds of the houses should be built next to the edge of Leicester.”

A new flyover has also been proposed to link Braunstone with the new Lubbesthorpe development on the other side of the M1 motorway, making access to the new site easier.

However, this would potentially create further congestion in Braunstone and do little to quell fears of overcrowding.