Untouched parts of England's green belt at risk as councils face pressure to hit housing targets

1.5m New homes to be built across England over five years under Labour's pledge on construction

- Peter Walker and Geoffrey Lean

Huge expanses of green belt land in England could be built on to meet government housing targets, it has emerged, with guidelines saying that councils lacking enough brownfield sites will be expected to offer untouched plots for construction.

The proposals, set out in consultation documents for the revised planning rules across England, prompted condemnation from campaigners, who accused ministers of making misleading promises about protecting the green belt.

There is also concern that the new national planning policy framework (NPPF) waters down targets for affordable homes, with a stipulation that at least 10% of new homes would have to be affordable being scrapped.

When the draft NPPF was unveiled in July, part of a pledge to build 1.5m new homes over five years, it was announced that councils that failed to meet targets could be forced to use "grey belt" sites, low-quality areas of the green belt such as former car parks and petrol stations, and sites on the edges of towns and villages.

But within the consultation document for the NPPF, it says that if there is not enough grey belt land then councils should be pushed into building on "higher-performing" green belt sites, which would include previously untouched land integral to the green belt's purpose.

The document sets out "a sequential test to guide release" of green belt land, starting with previously used brownfield sites, then grey belt areas, "and finally to higher performing green belt sites where these can be made sustainable".