England has enough disused land to build almost 1.5 million new homes without touching the green belt, a new study has revealed — but developers are still pressing ahead with countryside projects, fuelling anger among campaigners.
Research by countryside charity CPRE found that more than half of identified brownfield sites already have planning permission, with 790,000 homes “shovel-ready” under current guidelines. The data, drawn from councils across England, shows a 16% rise in brownfield availability over the past year, covering 30,257 sites across nearly 33,000 hectares.
Yet developers continue to eye rural land — including areas bordering sites of outstanding natural beauty — arguing brownfield projects are often less profitable due to remediation and ownership challenges. Between 2021 and 2022, 46% of new housing developments were built on green belt or greenfield land, CPRE said, often in areas lacking the infrastructure to support them.
Roger Mortlock, CPRE chief executive, said: “If the government is serious about a brownfield-first approach, it needs more teeth. Large developers favour the countryside, building identikit, car-dependent executive homes that Britain doesn’t need.”
The findings put CPRE at odds with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has argued it is “impossible” to deliver the government’s 1.5m homes target without releasing some green belt. Campaigners counter that London alone has brownfield capacity for more than 535,000 homes, while the South East and West Midlands could support nearly 200,000 each.
The report lands as ministers finalise a controversial new planning and infrastructure bill, which critics say weakens environmental protections in the name of speeding up approvals.
The Home Builders Federation responded that not all brownfield plots are viable, citing issues such as land ownership and high remediation costs. But CPRE insists brownfield land is a constantly renewing resource, including abandoned factories, redundant commercial buildings and defunct retail sites, and must form the backbone of housebuilding if the government’s pledge is to be met.
