Ministers are planning to impose tens of thousands of zero-carbon houses on local communities if town halls refuse to bid for the new homes, The Times has learnt.

Today’s housing Green Paper will confirm Gordon Brown’s plan to build three million new homes by 2020 – exceeding current targets by 250,000. It is also expected to propose that councils can borrow from the private sector to build more social housing.

Between 30 and 50 per cent of the new homes are expected to be low-cost homes, including a mix of shared ownership and rental housing. Further incentives may be offered to encourage developers to build homes more quickly. Housing experts are pressing for the release of discounted public sector land to housing associations and property developers.

A separate paper today will give further details of the Prime Minister’s plans for five new eco-towns, where both the homes and infrastructure will produce no carbon.

But the document will make clear that if local councils fail to bid for cash to build the new homes ministers will use compulsory purchase orders to force the developments to go ahead.

Informed sources told The Times that Yvette Cooper, the Housing Minister, is prepared to invoke the New Towns Act 1981, which allows the Government to seize land for development.

Developers say that zero-carbon houses are £30,000 to £40,000 more expensive to build than traditional homes so they will pay less for the land.

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