Housing expert Christine Whitehead has called on the government to review Green Belt use to allow housing to be built in some areas. <p></p><p>Speaking at a conference on affordable housing Professor Whitehead said that 150,000 extra homes are required in the south: &amp;“This can be achieved without ruining the Green Belt, but not without taking some Green Belt land,&amp;” she said.</p><p>Her views follow comments from junior housing minister Tony McNulty who told the Labour Party Conference last month that the Green Belt is not &amp;“sacrosanct&amp;” and should be used to ease the housing shortage.</p><p>But housing minister Lord Rooker seems less enamoured with the idea. Speaking at the same affordable housing conference he made it clear that brownfield development was seen as the major solution to the housing shortage.</p><p>&amp;“Our basic policy is that brownfield land is first, and greenfield is way, way, way down the list,&amp;” said Rooker. &amp;“The Thames Gateway could virtually meet the brownfield target in the south east.&amp;”</p><p>Debate on these issues is gaining momentum as housing affordability continues to decline. &amp;“We cannot, at the present time, (even) get 75,000 affordable houses; we can get about half of this,&amp;” said Whitehead. &amp;“The fact that the land is there doesn&amp;’t …