Tens of thousands of extra homes may have to be built in Leicestershire to meet newly-revised Government targets, it emerged today.

Councils had been told to find enough land to build 100,000 new houses by 2025.

Now Whitehall has increased its forecast and wants 131,000 homes created by 2031.

The Government says its new housing targets are based on fresh population predictions from the Office of National Statistics.

County politicians are angry that the extra homes have been "dumped" on Leicestershire.

Councillor David Slater, Charnwood Borough Council's planning spokesman, said: "It's absolutely ludicrous for the Government to dump this extra housing demand on us. Loughborough cannot take any more development than is already proposed. I'm sure almost all councils in Leicestershire will have a similar view."

The East Midlands Regional Assembly, which decides where new homes are built, has been forced to revise its plans following the Government's increase.

Andrew Pritchard, the assembly's director of housing, planning and transport, said: "We had been looking at Leicestershire needing 4,020 homes a year over the period of the regional plan but now the figure has gone up to 5,240 a year. That obviously means quite a significant rise in the house numbers. It's clearly not uncontroversial.

"They are not assumptions we necessarily agree with but those are the ones set for us nonetheless. We will look to challenge them."

The assembly is now carrying out a consultation over where the new homes could be built.

Four options are being considered: concentrating them around Leicester; spreading them around major county towns; focusing on specific areas such as Loughborough and Coalville, or establishing a new town.

The idea of creating a new town comes just months after the Government ruled out the Pennbury eco-town plan for land between Stoughton, Oadby and Great Glen.

Thousands of people opposed the 15,000-home Pennbury – and councils responsible for finding land for new housing are preparing themselves for a new tide of uprisings and the formation of protest groups.

Already protest groups have been set up in Barkby, Blaby, Thurmaston, Loughborough, Earl Shilton and Whitwick after land was earmarked for development to meet the original 100,000 new homes target.

Dr Kevin Feltham, chairman of Campaign Against the Stoughton Co-op Eco Town, said: "If it's a few hundred houses across the county you could stick them on the end of a town somewhere, but it's not, it's 30,000 which is completely different."

Coun Ernie White, leader of Blaby District Council, said the authority was bracing itself for a sizable backlash from residents once sites start to be earmarked.

North West Leicestershire District Council's cabinet member for planning, Councillor Nick Rushton, said: "We question the housing projections and think it's pretty stupid to review a regional plan that was only completed this year."