New research has revealed over a 250,000 homes are to be built on England's Green Belt.

Data gathered by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) shows up to 275,000 homes are now planned to be built on Green Belt land.

The figure is an increase of 50,000 on last year and nearly 200,000 more than the government introduced its planning reforms back in March 2012.

CPRE's Green Belt under siege report also reveals boundaries are being changed to accommodate housing at the fastest rate for two decades.

Over the course of 2015, 11 councils finalised boundary changes to accommodate development, with particular pressure being applied in the Metropolitan and West Midlands Green Belt.

CPRE said the Green Belt policy is 'gradually being weakened through loopholes in planning guidance'.

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Councils are releasing land for new development through a misappropriated 'exceptional circumstances' clause due to pressure from the government to set and meet high housing targets.

While Prime Minister David Cameron claimed last year protecting Green Belt was 'paramount', last month Communities Secretary Greg Clark ruled 1,500 new homes should be built on protected land between Gloucester and Cheltenham in one of the biggest developments on Green Belt for a decade.

Proposals have now been put forward to release small sites in the Green Belt for 'starter homes', while the Local Plans Expert Group is encouraging Green Belt reviews.

Paul Miner, planning campaign manager at the CPRE, said: "Councils are increasingly eroding the Green Belt to meet unrealistic and unsustainable housing targets. The Government is proposing to encourage further development in the Green Belt. Our Green Belt is invaluable in preventing urban sprawl and providing the countryside next door for 30 million people.

"We need stronger protection for the Green Belt, not just supportive words and empty promises. To build the affordable homes young people and families need, the Government should empower councils to prioritise the use of brownfield sites. Brownfield land is a self-renewing resource that can provide at least 1 million new homes."

(LM)