Homes threat to countryside

An area of English countryside slightly larger than Greater London will be covered in new houses between 1991 and 2016, a Government consultation paper warned yesterday.

The Secretary of State for the Environment, John Gummer, proposed that at least 60 per cent of house-building should take place within towns and cities. Some planners and house-building firms say this will cause ``town cramming'' but rural conservation campaigners feel the 60 per cent target is set too low.