CAMPAIGNERS say their stall at their village fete was visited by hundreds of people worried about the threat of around 100 new homes on Rodborough Fields.
An outline application for the new houses has just been formally submitted by developers Lioncourt to the Stroud District Council.
So on Saturday the Rodborough Fields Preservation Group, which is opposing the scheme, upped its game with the stand at the annual Rodborough Community Fete.
It later assembled scores of its supporters in Rodborough Fields, all wearing red to signify the fields' importance in the production of the famous Stroud scarlet cloth.
The fabric was dried on tenterhooks in the fields in bygone days, preservation group leader Rob Griffiths said.
"Rodborough Fields and Frome Banks are woven into the historical, social, physical and emotional fabric, not only of Rodborough but of Stroud and the Five Valleys," Mr Griffiths said.
Housing on the fields threatened to tear through that fabric, he said, destroying an area of significance for many people for all number of different reasons.
Lioncourt has shaped its final plans after consultation with the community helped it better understand the key issues for villagers, its strategic land director Andy Faizey said.
"We would like to thank local residents and stakeholders for their feedback," he said.
"We are confident the proposals submitted will provide a sustainable residential development with excellent connections to all Stroud has to offer."
