The Chairman of the National Trust has announced a shift in the organisations policy from preserving stately homes to the protection of the countryside from wholesale housing development.

Speaking at the organisations annual general meeting in London, Sir William Proby warned of the "gobbling up" of green fields throughout the UK.

Sir William said: "As our population grows relentlessly, our green spaces become a more finite and precious resource. Armed with the National Trust Act and a great tradition we must give serious consideration to what we can do to help this situation."


The change in priorities means that the trust, which has an annual income of approximately £350 million, will be spending more on buying land, much of it in the green belt and other areas around towns and cities.

While the trust accept that more homes have to be built across the UK, they have reiterated their desire to see more constructed on brownfield sites – land which may have been contaminated by previous industrial use.

The Government, which plan 3 million new homes by 2020, have indicated that 60 per cent of new homes will be built on brownfield sites. The National Trust believe this figure should be 80 per cent.

(NS/JM)