Rooker calls number of new homes 'a disgrace'

And the Local Government Association has called on the government to provide a comprehensive package of financial and legislative support in next month's comprehensive spending review to help councils build housing on brownfield sites.

Rooker's comments, made at a conference hosted by the Architecture Foundation, came as statistics showed Britain's houses would need to last for 1500 years at the current rate of replacement.

UK housebuilding completions per thousand of the population are the lowest in the European Union and are at their lowest for 77 years Speaking of the "catastrophic problems" and unfair legacy to come if building levels remained static, Rooker's remarks were welcomed by the House Builders Federation. It called for a faster planning system and more public investment.

The LGA's inquiry into brownfield land recommended that gap funding measures and a long-term secure grant regime to help councils recycle land for housing.

Last year, 162,000 homes were completed in the UK compared to 169,000 in 2000. This gives the UK a replacement rate of 0.1% per year, just a tenth of the rate of 1% across the rest of Europe.