Growing pressure to concrete over Bradford's countryside has been exposed by new figures showing a massive shortage of sites for new homes.

The Government has identified 351 hectares of previously-developed "brownfield" land across the region which might be suitable for housing.

The largest area was identified in Kirklees with 157 hectares, 110 hectares in Bradford and a further 84 in Calderdale.

If developed at a density of 43 dwellings per hectare - the average for the Yorkshire and Humber region - this would yield 15,093 homes.

This is only a fraction of the development experts say is needed to give the next generation a chance to own their own homes.

The Yorkshire and Humber Regional Assembly, which is in charge of development in the region, has called on Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees to provide as many as 73,140 new homes by 2021 to tackle the shortage.

It means unless brownfield sites for an additional 58,000 homes can be identified - 1,348 hectares - local authorities will be forced to build on unspoilt land.

The brownfield figures, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), provide the most detailed picture yet of the challenges facing planners.

Currently 75 per cent of all new developments in England are being built on previously developed sites.

This is a marked improvement on 1997, when only 56 per cent were built on brownfield.

Planning Minister Baroness Kay Andrews said developers should build on brownfield land first but admitted that "in some areas it may be necessary to bring forward other sites if we are to meet local demand".

Bradford Council has been trying to influence the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly's Regional Spatial Strategy which becomes law in 2007 and is a framework for development.

It calls for more than 30,000 homes to be created across the district by 2021. This figure is more than double what the Council believes is needed.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, said: "The Government wants to build 30,000 houses across the district but the Council is objecting on the grounds we will not have the necessary infrastructure in place in the timescale given."

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