The government has sold off enough publicly-owned land to build over 103,000 new homes, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced.

He said: "House building is at the heart of the government’s long-term economic plan. That’s why, rather than leaving surplus public sector land idle, we are putting it to good use by releasing it to build new homes across the country.

"This is part of wider efforts that have got Britain building again, leading to the delivery of 700,000 new homes since the end of 2009.

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"I now want to see councils following Whitehall’s example and explore what they can do to release land and deliver new homes and savings for local taxpayers."

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: "Housing starts are at their highest annual total since 2007, but it’s clear we need to maintain this momentum and build the homes communities want and need.

"That’s why for the last four years we’ve pulled out all the stops to release formerly-used surplus public sector land for house building – meaning we have now exceeded our own target."

On top of the news, the government has also announced plans to release land with capacity for 150,000 homes between 2015 and 2020.

(IT)