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Proposals for 20,000 more homes across west Northamptonshire have been given the go-ahead by planners.

Housing development is to take place up to 2026 in Northampton, Daventry, Towcester and Brackley.

It would bring the total of homes built between 2001 and 2026 to 50,000. Planners said they were needed to meet population growth.

Opposition groups have said villages will become engulfed and infrastructure is not sufficiently developed.

Chris Millar, chairman of the West Northamptonshire Joint Planning Committee, said there were 12,000 people on council waiting lists, residents were living longer, the population was growing and even the present population would need more homes.

'Not listened'

"The alternative 15 years down the line is a housing crisis and we are concentrating on two things," he said

"The infrastructure of health centres, hospitals, schools and the like has to be in place.

"We have also listened to the concerns of villagers who do not want to be turned into large town suburbs and will do all in our power to protect them."

Roger Kingston from the Northamptonshire Residents' Alliance disagreed and said the councillors had not listened to their concerns.

He said its new campaign was to ask residents to consider if these councillors were suitable for re-election in the spring after breaking so many promises.

"They just have not listened to what we have been saying about the lack of infrastructure in places where these houses would be built," he said.