New homes 'will engulf greenbelt'

MPs said planning laws should favour brownfield sites

An area of greenbelt land the size of Birmingham will be swallowed up to build new homes, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England says.

It warns ministers are ignoring local concerns in order to reach their target of three million new homes by 2020.

The CPRE says the focus must instead be on redeveloping brownfield sites and disused urban properties.

A group of MPs has also urged the government to rethink its housing target given the economic downturn.

The Environment Select Committee said "assumptions" behind the goal had been eroded by the slow-down.

It pointed out that the fall in house prices and drop-off in sales have led to building firms laying off thousands of staff and putting projects on ice.

The committee also echoed the CPRE's concerns, arguing that three million new homes would have negative environmental consequences.

But the government said future demand must be met, especially for affordable homes.

"Now is not the time to scale back on long-term ambitions because of current economic difficulties," said Housing Minister Margaret Beckett.

"We need to be ready for the recovery and be able to meet the long-term demand for homes from first time buyers and families which is not going to go away."

We're worried that developers will cherry pick the easiest sites to develop and that is basically the greenfield sites Fiona Howie, CPRE

Tougher rules

Fiona Howie, senior regional policy officer with the CPRE, told the BBC that many regional planners were trying to reduce the environmental impact of new housing, but were being overruled by ministers at the final sign-off stage.

She gave the example of the Yorkshire and Humber region where planners agreed that 15,000 new homes was a sustainable number, but the government eventually pushed that up to 22,000.

Ms Howie said the CPRE acknowledged there was a need for more housing, but felt there must be tougher rules in place to protect the countryside.

"We're worried that developers will cherry-pick the easiest sites to develop and that is basically the greenfield sites because it is cheaper and easier for them to develop those rather than regenerating previously developed land."

The Select Committee agreed. It said the government's policy risked making it impossible for councils to refuse planning permission for greenfield developments, even though they may not be needed.

The emphasis must instead be on making new homes environmentally sustainable and on encouraging viable domestic and community energy production, they argued.

"These ambitious targets were agreed in a time of economic optimism and easy credit," said committee chairman, Tory MP Tim Yeo.

"This is an opportunity for the government to place environmental concerns at the heart both of targets and planning regulation."

The committee also urged the government to re-examine its plans to build up to 10 new eco-towns, looking at the public transport and employment opportunities available to their residents.

According to government figures, 77% of homes built last year were on "brownfield" sites, up substantially from 1997.

Mrs Beckett said "no-one should doubt" the government's commitment to greener homes, saying eco-towns provided a "unique opportunity" to tackle climate change.