CAMPAIGNERS are vowing to redouble their efforts to protect Dorset's green belt amid fears it could be earmarked for housing development.

Councils across south east Dorset have rejected the idea of building on green belt land, claiming they can provide the thousands of extra homes needed on brownfield sites.

But an independent report which was commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government said the most sustainable solution in some areas would be for new land to be found "through a selective Green Belt release".

The report is talking about the south east of England but there are fears it could signal the start of a national review of green belt boundaries.

Terry Stewart, chairman of Poole Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE), said: "I would be wildly disappointed if that happens but the battle is not yet over.

"We've been working with three local pressure groups - Keep Wimborne Green, Keep Parley Green and Keep Corfe Mullen Green - and there is absolute determination to resist building on local green belt."

He said there was an over-supply of flats and not enough family housing and affordable housing in rural areas.

"Other areas of Dorset are not objecting to careful development," he added.

"If the community is consulted and says that a bit of infilling is okay here and there, I would totally support that."

And Angela Pooley, of East Dorset Friends of the Earth, said: "East Dorset Friends of the Earth will oppose any development in the green belt.

"It's definitely not sustainable, it takes away the quality of life for residents and there has to be a line drawn somewhere.

"We know we need affordable homes but there are other things that could be done before building on green belt.

"We've not got the infrastructure to support it. At the moment, the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch conurbation is probably one of the fastest growing in Europe and it's just not sustainable."