The numbers of new homes granted planning permission are now higher than before the 2008 economic crash.

In the year to March, councils across England granted permission for 261,000 new homes.

The previous highest total was in 2007 when 240,000 homes were given planning permission.

Housing minister Brandon Lewis said: “The previous system of top-down targets built nothing but resentment. Our reforms, a key part of our long-term economic plan, have changed that.

“And with the Housing Bill set to include measures to bring forward brownfield sites, we’re determined that we will keep the country building while protecting the green belt.”

Lewis said that Local Plans had been key, with 64% of councils having now adopted a Local Plan.

He claimed that local support for house building had doubled in the last four years from 28% to 56%, and that opposition to local house building had more than halved.