More than 30,000 new homes will be built in Ashford by 2031

Consultation on the South East Plan, which sets out the housing options for the region, ends on Friday.

The South East Forum for Sustainability (SEFS) has said the plan lacks "clear recognition of any limits to growth".

The forum, which represents more than 100 green groups, said: "It is vital that people in the region contribute by making their views known".

Under the South East Plan, houses would be built in the Ashford, Thames Gateway and Gatwick areas, in parts of Surrey and along the Sussex coast.

There is still a lot of room for improvement Ian Hepburn, SEFS

This month, the South East England Development Agency backed the highest proposed rate of house-building and said current housing proposals were "insufficient".

Chief executive, Pam Alexander, said: "We need a figure of around 36,000 housing completions per annum: more than the Assembly's highest proposal of 32,000 per annum."

Brenda Pollack, SEFS member and regional coordinator for Friends of the Earth, said: "Nowhere in the plan is there clear recognition of any limits to growth.

Improvements 'required'

"The nearest acknowledgement is the policy on reducing resource use.

"This is unlikely to make much overall difference if the aim is to continually build new developments based on economic growth."

Ian Hepburn, SEFS spokesman and regional policy director for Wildlife Trusts in the South East, said: "While the plan says many good things about the environment, there is still a lot of room for improvement."

The group has called for sustainable development to be stated as "a clear, explicit aim", with equal weight given to quality of life, the environment, and the economy.