11 things you didn't know about house building

HBF 10/11/04

Britain’s Green Belt isn’t disappearing under concrete. It’s expanding by 30,000 acres a year
National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty cover almost a quarter of the country
Urban regeneration isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a reality with more than half the new homes built during the 90s on brownfield sites
The number of people living alone is set to increase by 2.7 million by 2021
We are building fewer new homes annually than at any time since the second world war. Excluding the war years fewer new homes were built in 2002 than at any time since 1924
New homes can help prevent flooding and save water by using Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems and rainwater harvest systems
We need more housing to be affordable. Only by building enough homes to meet demand can prices be brought under control to allow everyone to buy a decent home of their own
The Government wants to see 60 per cent of new homes built on brownfield sites by 2008. This target has already been beaten
The average brand new home is up to four times more energy efficient than its Victorian equivalent
Anti-development campaigners often say once land is built on it has “gone forever”. This is not true, if it was brownfield land wouldn't exist
If all homes were as energy-efficient as new homes, we would already be beating our Kyoto target to cut greenhouse gases