Councillor Billy Hendry hit out at Scottish Government proposals that could see 35,000 new houses built in Scotland per year by 2015.

The 'Firm Foundations' consultation was launched by the Scottish Government last autumn and aims to create more social housing and increase the supply of land for homes.

Councillor Billy Hendry, said: "We have the biggest fight of our lives on our hands to protect our greenbelt.

"It's clear that to deliver that amount of housing there would have to be new settlements built on greenbelt land - and not just a few houses here and there.

"We will unite the communities in East Dunbartonshire to fight against these government proposals."

East Dunbartonshire Council has now submitted its views on the housing proposals to the Scottish Government.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The Firm Foundations consultation period ended on Friday (January 25) and we received a lot of responses from the key players.

"We are delighted local authorities such as East Dunbartonshire Council have submitted their views.

"We will look at what has been said and make an announcement in the near future."