For many, the solution to the housing crisis is on the doorstep. Or at least out of the window, if you happen to live or work next to a derelict plot of land that looks ripe for redevelopment.

Fuel for their conviction was supplied this week by a new report from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). For the second year in a row, the countryside champions have published an audit of the brownfield land that is available across England for housing. 

The figures are based on the brownfield registers, which local planning authorities have been obliged by the government to collect for the last two years. The registers contain enough brownfield land for nearly 1.1 million new homes. This figure is 25,000 higher than last year’s report even though there the total area of land recorded in the registers has dropped to 26,000ha.

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