PLANS to scrap regulations on home extensions and shop-to-house conversions are just a “drop in the ocean” that fail to address the scale of the housing crisis, Labour has warned.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove is expected to announce reforms to national permitted development rights on Monday that will allow shops, takeaways and betting shops to be turned into living spaces, as well as enable barn conversions and the repurposing of agricultural buildings.

Ahead of his speech, he argued for the need to build in inner cities “so that we protect our countryside,” saying: “Empty shops or offices cannot be gathering dust while we have an urgent need for more homes.”