Building homes on green-belt land could put an end to Britain’s housing crisis, a report has said.

The report, called Unaffordable Housing: Fables and Myths and published on Monday, criticised Britain’s “Soviet-style” planning system, saying it constrained development in order to protect the Countryside.

Policy Exchange, the modernising Conservative think tank that commissioned the report, said government had become susceptible to local interest groups looking to preserve their environment. It added that only 14% of the houses Britain needed could be built on the number of brownfield sites available.

Nicholas Boles, director of Policy Exchange, said: “Most land in Britain is agricultural, yet the farming industry is only a small part of our economy. If you argued that the 8% of land given over to the millions of us who live in towns were increased to 10%, it would make an enormous difference to people’s lives.”

The report comes shortly after government adviser and planning guru Sir Peter Hall called for redundant agricultural land to be released for the development of new settlements.

But the Campaign to Protect Rural England hit back at the report, saying low-density building on green belt was less sustainable. Oliver Henry, head of planning and local government, said: “Commuting will increase and be bad for the environment. There are many benefits to keeping land green – it reduces flood risk, attracts tourists and provides a place to escape to.”