Seera councillors Keith Mitchell and Christine Field with Surrey children

The South East Plan covers housing, jobs, transport and the environment for eight million people up until 2026.

It has taken the South East England Regional Assembly (Seera) more than two years to draw up the plan, which makes provision for 580,000 new homes.

It covers East and West Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Hampshire and Oxfordshire.

Seera calls for 35% of the new housing to be affordable - some 10,000 homes a year - and for high design standards with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency.

In this crowded region, the green backcloth of the countryside is a precious resource Edward Dawson, CPRE

It also wants new reservoirs to help with water management and more government money for schools, hospitals and roads.

But it also wants to see more investment in public transport.

Proposals for the economy include better training for the workforce and help for poorer areas.

Environmental objectives include protecting wildlife and woodlands, reducing pollution and promoting recycling and reducing waste.

However, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said the plan relies too heavily on the public changing their behaviour to lessen environmental damage.

It said extensive government action would be needed to achieve the desired changes.

Derelict land

"In this crowded region, the green backcloth of the countryside is a precious resource," said CPRE South East director Edward Dawson.

"We will campaign for the maximum use of derelict urban land and buildings for new housing.

"We also want a shift away from wastefully low housing densities."

If the plan is approved by the government it will be the framework for planning decisions by local authorities and district and unitary councils over the next 20 years.