England has enough brownfield land for 1.5m homes, data shows

Almost 1.5m homes could be built on brownfield sites in England to avoid encroaching on green belt and meet the government target for housing growth by the end of this parliament, new figures suggest.

- Sandra Laville Environment correspondent

But despite the amount of brownfield land available, developers are pushing to build on green land, including on and adjacent to areas of outstanding natural beauty.

More than half (54%) of the brownfield areas have planning permission already and are considered deliverable under the national planning policy framework within five years. These provide shovel-ready sites for 790,000 properties.

The countryside charity CPRE, which obtained the figures from councils across England, is calling for the government to enforce its “brownfield-first” approach in the face of increasing development on green land.