The Church of England is facing accusations of hypocrisy for concreting over the countryside to build tens of thousands of homes on its land.

New villages and suburbs are set to be built across the country on farmland and woodland rich in wildlife, bringing millions of pounds into church coffers.

The Church Commissioners have identified enough land earmarked by councils for development to build 30,000 new homes, 9,000 of which will be ‘affordable’.

Planning applications have already been submitted for around 8,000 homes on church land.

The housing initiative is being justified as a social mission that will ‘help solve the housing crisis’ as a ‘collective effort is needed to help tackle an acute shortage of truly affordable homes’.

However, locals have accused the church of hypocrisy by ‘coining it in’, with only 10 per cent of homes in one major development categorised as affordable.

As one of the nation’s largest landowners, the church is set to also be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Labour government’s drive to cut planning delays and build 1.5million new homes in five years.

Outline planning consent has already been given for 1,535 new homes, 20 per cent of which will be ‘affordable’, at Chidswell in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. The site includes farmland and two ancient woodlands, with over 100 species of birds and animals.

The Chidswell Action Group (CAG) has been battling for years to stop the development and has applied to the High Court for a judicial review, claiming the evidence of protected species of kingfishers, barn owls and a redwing has been effectively ignored.

A spokesman said: ‘Those who are trying to push this development through are doing so in the interest of profit – knowing they will cause irreversible and permanent harm.’

One CAG member said of the church landowner: ‘The hypocrisy is ridiculous because they are custodians of God’s creation, but the way they have dismissed the threat to wildlife is absolutely shocking.’

A £300million scheme to build 2,200 homes west of Bersted, near Bognor Regis, West Sussex, is awaiting planning approval.

The developers say only 10 per cent of the homes will be ‘affordable’ – meaning they must be rented cheaply or sold at least 20 per cent below market value.

Resident David Buckley, 43, said: ‘This is just the church cashing in because they want to shift some prime real estate at the right price.

‘To allow such a mammoth housing development – which incidentally is driving a horse and cart through planning guidelines – will devastate this area..’

Bill Deal, 71, said: ‘Where are the children going to school? Which hospitals are going to treat another 5,500 people? Which dentists and doctors are going to pick up the workload?

‘This is not some small development that can be accommodated by the infrastructure that already exists. We will be swamped.’

At nearby Barnham, Eastergate and Westergate, West Sussex, the church intends to build 3,200 homes for 9,000 new residents.

This scheme has also been met with local fury.

Malcolm Fraser, a local resident and IT consultant, said: ‘The development is far, far too big for this area. The infrastructure is already collapsing under the weight of the current population.

‘This is clearly a money-making enterprise by the Church of England which is cashing in.’

Brian Barbary: ‘The church is just coining it in without a thought for the residents who already live here. It’s being done for maximum profit and it’s completely wrong.’

A spokesperson for the Church Commissioners said the charity has a ‘responsibility’ to ‘generate strong returns.’

‘We work with local planning authorities across the country to bring forward these homes and help address the urgent housing crisis in both rural and urban England.’