At least a million homes could be built on more than 18,000 brownfield sites across England, boosting run-down areas and saving developments from encroaching on land in the countryside, according to the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England.

The countryside charity looked at councils’ brownfield land registers and concluded that of the 18,277 sites identified in its research – up 4% on last year’s study – two-thirds were what it called “shovel-ready” and could deliver new homes within five years.