Angela Rayner and Keir Starmer were accused of waging ‘war on rural England’ yesterday as they unveiled the biggest shake-up of planning rules for a generation

A stock image of the New Forest, which is set to see one of the biggest increases in housebuiding

The marina at Gosport, which also features on the list of places that will need to ramp up housebuilding most

Tories warned that the PM’s housebuilding bonanza will barely keep up with immigration – even if he hits his overall goal of 1.5million homes over the next five years.

The blueprint included new demands for hundreds more developments in the Home Counties, while the draft goals for the North published in July were revised down.

MPs and campaigners argued it paves the way for swathes of the Green Belt to be concreted over because it forces councils to re-classify thousands of acres into ‘Grey Belt’ sites for building on.

Other protections have also been diluted, with a vow to ‘safeguard the countryside from encroachment’ now dropped.

Councils that fail to submit detailed plans for achieving the steep targets, with some facing demands for a 2,000 per cent increase in building, could have developments imposed on them by Whitehall.

Two-thirds of councils have yet to submit fresh plans, creating fears of a flood of speculative planning applications by developers hoping their estates will be rammed through by officials eager to hit Labour’s new target of building at least 1.5million homes within this Parliament.

Local authorities have only three months to lodge fresh plans with the Government, even though they can take years to develop.

Sir Keir said he would prioritise ‘human beings wanting to have a house’ over the environment as he joined Ms Rayner on a visit to a building site in Cambridgeshire yesterday.

‘The starting point is local plans, and that’s really important for councils to develop the plan according to the target, taking into account local need and working with developers,’ the premier said.

The London borough of Richmond, which is among the top targets for housing increases

‘But are we going to push it through if those plans don’t work? Yes we absolutely are.

‘Are we going to push away the planning rules and make them clearer, as we have done today, get away the blockers that are stopping the houses being built? Yes, we are absolutely intent.

‘For years, we have had not enough houses being built. That means that individuals and families don’t have the security that they want.

‘We are determined to break through that, to do what’s necessary.

‘Of course we want to get the balance right with nature and the environment, but if it comes to a human being wanting to have a house for them and their family, that has to be the top priority.’

Shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake said he ‘welcomed’ the target of 1.5million homes, but added: ‘What we do not welcome is the war on rural England he is pursuing.

‘Following on from the family farm tax, the withdrawal of rural services delivery grants [which cover the additional costs of delivering services in remote areas], now we see the massive shift – mass house building in rural areas and on Green Belt.

‘We do not welcome the bulldozing of democratic accountability, we do not welcome the lowering of housing targets for urban areas and we do not welcome an average doubling – a 100 per cent increase [in developments] – for predominantly rural areas.

‘Residents will one day wake up to realise that they will face targets of up to 600 per cent increase. They will call their local councillor to ask them to oppose a specific application and be shocked at the response – ‘I’m sorry, we no longer have the right to vote against an individual application’.’

Kensington & Chelsea has been told it must dramatically ramp up housebuilding