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The parents of Tim Henman are leading a protest against plans to site an “eco-town” of 15,000 homes in fields on the edge of a picturesque Oxfordshire village.

The former Wimbledon semi-finalist is expected to join demonstrations by residents of Weston-on-the-Green, the village where he grew up.

The objectors, led by Tony and Janet Henman, believe that their settlement of 400 people would be swallowed up by the planned town and have formed a protest group called “Weston Front” to oppose it.

Within the next few days the government is due to publish its shortlist of possible sites for the first of Gordon Brown’s planned eco-towns. Nearly 60 locations have been proposed.

The projects are intended to be carbon-neutral showpieces but are becoming bogged down in local protests. These include one in Warwickshire, where Felix Dennis, the magazine publisher, is trying to halt an eco-town near his home.

The Weston-on-the-Green development would occupy 600 acres of farmland between the village and the M40.

Tony Henman, 67, said: “The village at the moment is great, it’s a lovely little community. Janet and I have lived here for 40 years. If this goes ahead the community as we know it would be completely destroyed and stolen from us.”

The proposed new town, Weston Otmoor, would be built within a few hundred yards of the Henmans’ £750,000 home. Henman added: “Tim was born and bred in this village. He went to the school here. He is as horrified as we are.”

The village includes a manor house-turned-hotel, thatched cottages, the Ben Jonson pub and the parish church of St Mary, which dates from the 12th century.

Weston-on-the-Green is one of 60 sites under consideration by Caroline Flint, the housing minister, who is responsible for choosing 10 locations for eco-towns. They will be designed as self-contained communities of up to 20,000 homes, built with recycled materials. At least one is expected to be totally car-free.

The plans for Weston Otmoor include railway and tram lines designed to minimise car travel.

Protesters argue that any environmental benefits would be cancelled out by the destruction of countryside and by the generation of an extra 8,000 car journeys a day. They warn of severe traffic jams on the congested A34 into Bicester and Oxford, as well as the M40 into London.

Leaders of the Weston Front have raised funds, signed up a QC and are threatening to take the developers to judicial review.

Henman said: “We have everything ready to go if and when the time comes. We have rallied all the other villages in this area that would be affected.”

Bruce Tremayne, chairman of the Oxfordshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said his organisation would oppose the Weston-on-the-Green plans, despite supporting eco-towns in principle.

“Its tranquillity and character will be completely destroyed,” Tremayne said.

Patrick Cartledge, leader of the small Labour opposition group on the Tory-controlled Cherwell district council, said: “There is a severe shortage of affordable housing in this area.”

The proposal includes building on part of Wendlebury Meads, an area of meadows which is also a site of special scientific interest. A recent study said: “A great range of meadow wildflowers are found here. These include green-winged orchids, devil’s-bit scabious, betony, cowslip, dyer’s greenweed and great burnet.”

A spokesman for Parkridge Holdings, the developer planning Weston Otmoor, said it would work with the local community to develop “sensitive” proposals.

Tim Henman, 33, retired from professional tennis last year. He earned an estimated £6m in prize money and, at his peak, was number four in the world. The father of three reached the Wimbledon semi-final four times from 1998 to 2002 but never made the final.

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