The battle over controversial new planning laws that campaigners say could allow developers a free run at building in the countryside has heated up, as George Osborne claims reforms are vital for the economy.

It has been reported that the Chancellor has said ministers will not bow to pressure to change the new planning guidelines that would make it much easier for developers to build on green land.

In a joint article for the Financial Times with Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, Mr Osborne insists: ‘When planning acts as an arbitrary brake on growth, on the new jobs and new businesses the country needs, reform is not optional – it is imperative.

'Reforming a slow and inefficient planning system will be good news for the small business looking to expand into new premises; for the young family hoping for more affordable house prices.

‘This is our opportunity to unlock the responsible development, the new investment and new jobs the country needs.’

The planning rules are still at consultation stage, and would turn strict limits on building on rural land on their head to instead deliver a 'presumption in favour of sustainable development'.

David Cameron and planning minister Greg Clark faced fierce pressure to back-track on the reforms, which would allow developers to rip up vast acres of green fields.

The opponents of the changes include English Heritage, which says they would have a ‘devastating effect’, and the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

Campaigners say that the reforms are in danger of falling into a trap of growth at any costs and that it is only Britain's strict planning laws that have prevented urban sprawl in recent decades.

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