Ministers want to make homes more affordable

The list of proposals in 50 local council areas in England comes after MPs said plans to build 200,000 new homes by 2016 might not meet demand.

It shows areas not already earmarked for new housing where council leaders have said they want to expand.

There will now be detailed talks about the bids, which span the South West, Midlands and East of England.

Face lifts

Controversial plans to build 200,000 homes - most of them in the South East - were unveiled three years ago.

But, in the wake of last year's Barker Review of housing needs, Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper said development had to go beyond existing growth areas to meet demand and make homes more affordable.

The New Growth Points Scheme invited proposals for renewing town centres and meeting local housing demand, she said.

"We have had over 20 bids, including more than 50 local authorities," said Ms Cooper.

"If all these bids were realised we would secure an extra 8,000-10,000 homes per year - 80,000 in total by 2016 - in addition to existing plans and the existing growth areas."

The proposals are from:

• East Midlands: Leicester/Derby/Nottingham; Lincoln, Grantham and Newark

• West Midlands: Birmingham/Solihull

• East of England: Norwich, Haven Gateway/Colchester/Ipswich and Thetford/Breckland

• South East: Reading, Oxford, Didcot, Basingstoke, Maidstone and Redhill/Horley; Partnership for Urban South Hampshire

• South West: Bristol, Swindon, Exeter, Plymouth, Truro/Carrick, Poole.

A report from a Commons committee this week said the number of households is rising faster than current building levels.