CONTROVERSIAL government proposals to build 200,000 new homes across the east of England in the next ten years underestimate the region's needs and must be doubled in scale, according to a report published this week.

New Labour think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research warns that the current East of England Plan will not satisfy projected demand for housing in the south east by 2016 and that 217,000 extra homes are needed "to help get working class families on the housing ladder".

The report comes just two months after Government inspectors suggested 7,500 fewer homes than proposed by the plan should be built in the Epping Forest district and that plans for North Weald Airfield's development should be scrapped altogether - conclusions strongly endorsed by the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA).

But the IPPR report seeks to return these areas to the government's agenda, adding that because they must not become "urban sprawl", extra sites must be found to accomodate the further proposed developments.

The inspection panel and EERA recommendations will be considered before the government's final decision, expected in November, but the IPPR - seen as influential on government policy - believes the debate is not yet over.

David Young, secretary of North Weald Airfield Users Group which campaigned for the airfield's preservation, said: "We feel the report is somewhat confusing. While it suggests large-scale development is needed it appears to intimate criticism of the government's plans on how it is going to do this, itself highlighting the necessity for preservation of open green leisure sites such as North Weald Airfield."

North Weald parish councillor Bob Wood, a long-time critic of the East of England Plan, had a different take on the report, saying: "Given recent massive underestimation of immigration, it's not surprising there's a sudden need for even more housing."

He added: "All housing is being thrown at the east and south east, leaving other areas of the country as they are."