The South East Regional Assembly has earmarked seven working days to discuss how to tackle the embargo on house building across a large part of Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey.

More than a week has been set aside to sort out the planning freeze on new housing across much of the region at the South-east planning inquiry in November.

English Nature has told councils in the Surrey Heath special protection area that they must not give permission for housing because of the pressure that it is placing on rare bird habitats.

Roger Humber, of the Planning and Development Association, welcomed the discussion. He said: “It could be very valuable as an exercise in teasing out to what extent English Nature is overegging the pudding.”