The targets also included the building of 1.5 million new homes within the party’s first five years in power.

The FMB has said the implementation of five rules for the grey belt development, which are brownfield first, grey belt second, at least 50% affordable housing delivery when land is released, boosting public services and infrastructure, and improving green spaces, is an important initiative in the delivery of more homes.

Brian Berry, CEO at the FMB commented: “The UK is experiencing a growing housing crisis and brownfield sites alone are insufficient to tackle the scale of the challenge that we face.

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“While brownfield land should be prioritised, introducing new measures to create more buildable land and is vital, particularly small sites which can be used by local house builders, as this will help to create more diverse, quality housing.

“More detail is needed about the proposal, particularly as to how ‘poor-quality and ugly areas’ are to be classified as Grey Belt.

“However, we know that many small sites in Green Belt areas, such as disused car parks and petrol stations, would be perfectly suitable for housing.

“Unlocking small sites would present significant opportunities, and these proposals must be supported with increased funding to empower local authority planning departments to support micro and SME housebuilders through the planning system.”