Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has highlighted four proposed areas for housing development, to tackle the shortage of affordable homes.
In the south east, the new homes in Prescott's "sustainable communities plan" are to be spread across the following key "growth areas":
• the "Milton Keynes quadrangle" which includes Bedford, Milton Keynes, Corby and Northampton;
• the London-Stansted/Cambridge M11 corridor;
• Ashford in Kent; and
• the "East Thames Gateway" - including east London, north Kent and south Essex.
Prescott's plans also include a scheme to give nurses, police officers and teachers the chance to buy cut-price housing in the south east. The government has insisted the housing must be high density and affordable - although it has denied this would mean cramped or low quality accommodation.
