Judgement day is coming for the fate of greenbelt land in Brockworth as a planning inquiry into proposals to build 1,500 homes is set to go ahead.
Outline planning permission for the huge development near the A417 on the outskirts of the village was granted by one vote in August.
Campaign Group Save Brockworth Green Belt has campaigned to stop Hunter Page's Perrybrook development, citing concerns over the loss of green land and an increase traffic.
The decision was called in by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles and an independent planning inspector will look at the case over six days.
It has been announced that will now start on July 28.
Spokeswoman Janet Thomas said they could make a good case.
"We're going to be challenged by the developer and by Tewkesbury Borough Council so we want to meet them head on," she said.
"We're very optimistic and very hopeful because we have put a lot of time and effort into this."
One of the objections is the belief the amount of housing needed in the future has been exaggerated in the Joint Core Strategy.
The Perrybrook development proposal consists of 40 per cent affordable housing and up to 175 units of care accommodation.
There are also plans for a community hub with retail units, health facilities and employment units.
Land has also been identified for a new primary school, allotments and areas of public open space.
Tewkesbury Borough Council received 590 letters of objection from members of the public and two letters of support for the application.
The campaign group is fundraising to help pay for legal representation at the inquiry and is being supported by Brockworth Parish Council.
Ms Thomas said fundraising was going well.
"We have had some very, very generous donations from people, including some of anonymous donations," she said.
"We're so grateful and thank everyone for their generous help.
"We started this because we realised an awful lot of green belt was to be lost, in our view, unnecessarily."
Brockworth Parish Council chairman Jim Hunt said he was pleased to hear a date was set.
"We're supporting the group as much as we can, we have given them some money already and will probably give them some more soon," he said.
"We're hopeful we can make a difference.
"The question is will Mr Pickles look at it himself or will he come back and see he left it to his lackies?
"That's because the Conservatives said they were not going to build on green belt but all of Brockworth's green land is under threat."
Hiring a solicitor and barrister has already cost £2,000, with more costs expected so fundraising is being sought.
A lottery is being held monthly with tickets of £3 giving people the opportunity to win £50 as part of the fundraising.
A quiz night is also being held at Brockworth Community Centre on Saturday, February 28.
For more information on the events, call the parish council on 01452 863123.
