Homes plan 'needs green belt land'

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The Prime Minister has put housing at the top of his agenda since he came to office, pledging to build three million new homes by 2020, mainly on previously developed brownfield sites.

But a Social Market Foundation investigation concluded that around two million new homes would have to be built on either undeveloped countryside or on the green belt around major towns and cities.

Mr Brown announced his plans to increase the rate of new development in a bid to address the shortage of new homes and the dramatic rise in house prices.

Last month he told MPs: "Putting affordable housing within the reach not just of the few but the many is vital both to meeting individual aspirations and to securing a better future for the country."

But Mr Brown pledged that the Government "will continue to protect robustly the land designated as green belt".

Some 60% of the proposed new homes will be located on brownfield sites under the Government's plan. But the report casts doubt on the ability of brownfield land to support the proposed increase in development.

The study said that even if the new homes were built on a density equivalent to London, only 2.1 million new homes could be built on brownfield land - and that would mean paving over parks and gardens.

The report said that on a more realistic housing density, "almost two million homes would need to be built on non-previously developed land".

Housing and Planning Minister Baroness Andrews said: "There will be no change to the robust protection of the greenbelt as the Housing Green Paper made clear last month. We believe it is possible to build the homes future generations need whilst protecting the environment and green spaces."