Number of households in England 'to increase by 250,000 a year'

The number of households in England is predicted to increase by more than quarter of a million a year over the next two decades, official figures showed today.

There are expected to be 27.8 million households by 2031, a rise of 6.3 million on 2006 levels driven by population growth and an increase in the number of people living alone.

The projections prompted calls to get the stalled house building industry moving again.

The Government said the figures, which are predictions based on existing trends, showed the need for investing in new housing despite the current economic climate.

And Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation said: "Today's figures are a stark warning of the need to get builders building again.

"Housing supply is being strangled by the lack of mortgage availability at the very time we should be increasing output. The Government needs to act now, otherwise further jobs and industry capacity will be lost - and let us be clear there is no-one else apart from the private house building industry going to build these desperately needed homes."

But rural campaigners said using the predictions, which may not take into account changes on the ground, to form targets for building new homes could pose a risk to green belt land and greenfield sites.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said a "predict and provide" approach could lead to higher targets for new homes than needed
- particularly in a recession - and force local planning authorities to allocate more land than required to meet national goals.

Developers would respond by "cherry picking" more profitable greenfield sites instead of regenerating brownfield land, CPRE warned, leading to "urban decline and countryside sprawl".

The figures show the main driver in rises in household numbers is likely to be population growth.

And by 2031, almost a fifth (18%) of people will be living alone in England, up from 13% in 2006, the projections said.

The South East is expected to see the largest increase in households, of around 39,000 a year, while the North East will see the least, of around 8,300 a year up to 2031.

The Communities and Local Government department said that despite the current economic difficulties, there would still be a long-term demand for housing with an ageing and growing population.

A spokesman said: "That is why we are continuing to maintain our focus on delivering more affordable homes, backed up with £8 billion investment.

"As we've already made clear, now is not the time to row back on our long-term house building targets.

"We need to be ready for when the recovery comes to press on with our programme to meet long-term demand for housing from first time buyers, families on waiting lists and those living in overcrowded homes."

And he denied the Government had any intention to weaken protection given to the green belt in planning decisions.

"We are clear about the Green Belt's value and effectiveness and have no intention of making fundamental changes to our policy.

"It continues to be a matter for Local Authorities and Regional Assemblies to look at how the Green Belt best protects the countryside and guards against inappropriate development."