Analysts have warned that government targets to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years may not be met if focus is placed on building new towns entirely.
Thinktank Centre for Cities told the Guardian that significantly higher numbers of new towns would have to be built in England than ever before to meet the target.
This comes after new deputy prime minister Angela Rayner unveiled plans for the “largest housebuilding programme since the postwar period” last month.
This would be similar to postwar projects which saw entirely new urban centres created, with a taskforce having been set up to find suitable spots.
However, Centre for Cities warned that far fewer homes were typically built by private companies in newly designed towns historically, with focus remaining on areas of high demand.
Some 307,000 new homes would have to be built under the plan, against last year's 189,000, mirroring growth last seen in 1977.
Warnings have also emerged that this would require greenfield sites equivalent to double the size of Milton Keynes being found for new developments.
“While the government hasn’t given a timeline in which a certain number of houses should be delivered by new towns, the implication is that it sees these projects as [...] important” for the target, Centre for Cities analyst Maurice Lange said.
“Past experience suggests that the policy can accelerate development in certain areas, but its role in increasing total housebuilding is likely to be relatively small.
“This underlines the need to combine it with wider reform to make the planning system more purposive and predictable across the UK.”