THE number of new homes in the New Forest could more than double under revised targets set out by the government.

The government announced last week that councils in England would be given mandatory housing targets to help contribute to the overall number of 370,000 new homes to be built each year.

The new targets set out by the government are aimed to boost housebuilding in areas most in need.

Under the new government target, the number of homes built in the New Forest under the revised proposal – which is under consultation until Tuesday, September 24 – would be 1,465, which is more than double the 729 homes the current regime would have seen.

The additional 736 homes would contribute to the new Labour government’s commitment to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, reflecting the “level of ambition necessary to tackle the housing crisis”.

New Forest District Cllr Steve Davies, portfolio holder for housing and homelessness, said: “Land in the New Forest is extremely expensive and extremely difficult to find, being in a national park.

“We’ll need time to properly digest the data and see if the figures outlined by the government will be possible.”

As well as the New Forest, the number of new homes built in Eastleigh would also increase for the year, rising to 902 from 645.

Last week, following the government’s increased housing targets, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner wrote to every council leader and chief executive in England, stating that there is “not just a professional responsibility to but a moral obligation to see more homes built,” across the country.