And plans show that the increase will be as much as 5,000.

We revealed last week that Government officials looked set to increase the additional home allocated for Rugby.

And this week, the West Midlands Phase 2 Spatial Strategy confirmed our front page story.

Initially, Government officials told Rugby it had to find room for 10,800 extra homes and 366,000 across the region.

But now they want to increase the region's housing allocation - which means Rugby will probably have to take a few thousand as it has been identified as a 'Focal Growth Point'.

Three option have this week been put forward

The first sees growth concentrated in the south east of the region (ie Solihull and Warwickshire) with 51,500 extra houses, 5,000 of them in Rugby.

The second sees growth spread more evenly around the region, with more houses being built in Stoke on Trent and Telford, for example. A total of 54,000 extra houses would be built, 3,000 of them in Rugby.

The third option goes for maximum growth across the region, with 80,000 extra houses, 5,000 of them in Rugby.

Cllr. Neil Campbell, Portfolio Holder for Economy, Development and Culture, said: "We have considerable doubts about the justification behind the Government's view that 366,000 new houses are needed in the West Midlands, let alone that up to 80,000 more should be built.

"The Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull area is one of the most successful parts of the region so it is inevitable that it would be earmarked for further growth, with up to 5,000 more houses in Rugby and considerably more in Warwick and Solihull.

"However, these are complex issues and it would be unwise to rush to a hasty judgment. We will sit down with our partner councils in the sub-region and develop a consistent and persuasive argument that will be presented at the Inquiry into the regional spatial strategy, which is scheduled for next year."