Almost 1.5m homes could be built on brownfield sites in England, report finds

Critics say housing developments in rural areas are damaging nature as well as lacking transport and community infrastructure. Photograph: Samuel Foster/Alamy

Almost 1.5m new 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.

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