Green campaigners reacted to government proposals to boost house building announced in the pre-budget report by saying the proposals seem to pay little more than lip-service to associated environmental impacts.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England also said there was scant evidence that the plans would improve access to housing for those in greatest need.

A key statement in the government's response to the Barker Review published as part of the Pre-budget report said that housing supply would increase by around 50,000 to 200,000 new homes each year in England. However CPRE argues there is no hard evidence that such an increase is either necessary or achievable, or that it would deliver improvements in affordability.

Making the planning system more responsive to the housing market signals would undermine urban renewal and add to pressure for greenfield development, said the campaigners, who also fear that the drive for economic growth and inward investment will override the need to protect the environment and the countryside.

Friends of the Earth also slammed the proposals on similar grounds. Basing housing plans on price and not social need would lead to massive growth across the country, placing strain on infrastructure, water and the environment, FoE said.

FoE planning coordinator, Hugh Ellis said: "If the government's housing plans go ahead, they will encourage a huge house-building free-for-all in areas that are already over-developed."

"And any hopes of ensuring that they are built to high environmental standards disappeared when the government watered down its sustainable building code, and then made it voluntary, and not compulsory."