Builders do not need more greenfield sites, says the CPRE

Using industry figures, the CPRE estimates that housebuilders have enough land with planning permission to build at least a quarter of a million new homes.

Its study of 15 leading housebuilders also found that far from running out of land, the top companies' land reserves have expanded by almost 18% in the last five years.

CPRE Policy Director Neil Sinden said: "The suggestion that our problems of housing supply are to do with lack of land are way off the mark."

Developers

But Pierre Williams of the Housebuilders' Federation rejected the CPRE study, saying it did not distinguish between detailed and outline planning permission.

We need to see action taken at all levels to persuade housebuilders to bring forward that land in order to meet some of the housing problems we face CPRE Policy Director Neil Sinden CPRE v Housebuilders' Federation

Mr Williams also said the figures set out by the CPRE represent merely 12 to 18 months' worth of "actual housing needs".

"If it's got outline planning consent you can't build on it, you need detailed planning consent.

"As soon as it does get that detailed planning consent it gets developed."

The study claimed that the industry could have built 100,000 more homes in each of the five years to 2002, and said there is enough land with at least outline planning permission to build 278,866 homes.

Mr Sinden added: "We see no reason why the housebuilders cannot be bringing this land forward at a faster rate for development.

"We need to see action taken at all levels to persuade housebuilders to bring forward that land in order to meet some of the housing problems we face."

Scorn

But the Housebuilders' Federation poured scorn on the study.

"Suddenly the CPRE seems to be changing its tune and saying 'well actually, yes there is a housing shortage but it's not our fault it's the fault of the housebuilders'," the Federation's spokesman said.

Mr Williams added that it was "hardly surprising" that the land banks - land developers own and aim to build on - had expanded over the past five years.

"There's been consolidation in the industry, so naturally the 15 biggest have got bigger , consequently the amount of land they've got has also increased."

Builders say they need more land

But the CPRE said the output of private homes for sale is rising, claiming the real problem is the availability of housing for low income families.

The shortage of affordable housing is not due to planning problems, but almost entirely due to the collapse in public funding for new housing since the 1970s, it said.

The CPRE also dismissed housebuilders' claim that attempts to make them foot the bill for local improvements are delaying the construction of new homes.

"The healthy profits made in this sector in recent years suggest they can be more generous," it said.

Tax breaks

To combat the current housing shortage, the CPRE is urging the government to:

• Introduce further tax breaks and monetary incentives to "boost the attractiveness of urban renewal".
• Raise the target for new housing on brownfield sites from 60% to at least 75%
• Increase funding for affordable housing for low income families
• Adopt a coherent national approach to the regions to address regional disparities in prosperity and reduce development pressure in overheated areas.

The study comes ahead of the findings of a government inquiry into the housing market in south east England.