Proposals for thousands of new homes have provoked anger among residents

"Hotspots" earmarked for development are Milton Keynes, Ashford in Kent, the Stansted-Cambridge corridor and the Thames estuary.

Ministers say new properties are needed to ease the housing shortage.

But the trust's director general, Fiona Reynolds, said on Wednesday the country's heritage must not become "the victim of a tide of development".

'Inappropriate' development

The National Trust is one of the country's leading conservation bodies.

Launching its programme for 2004 on Wednesday, Ms Reynolds said the Trust wanted the government to show "leadership and recognition so that the heritage isn't a victim of development or inappropriate change. It becomes part of the solution."

She said one of the big issues which concerned the trust was Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's house building plans for Cambridgeshire.

"Taking it from a heritage perspective, there are opportunities to get better quality development in the right places which benefit everybody, rather than the heritage being a victim of a tide of development creeping across England."

Ms Reynolds said the trust's chief concern in the area was for the future of Hatfield Forest which she described as a "very special site".