A liar and a fool! Countryside campaigners maul planning minister over calls to build on greenbelt land Planning Minister Nick Boles said resisting new builds would turn rural villages into 'museum exhibits' Campaigners said developers are to blame for housing crisis by refusing to build on 400,000 available plots Meeting turned angry with campaigners accusing Mr Boles of having a 'simplistic' approach and 'not listening' Planning Minister Nick Boles told members of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) that quiet villages 'need some noise' Planning Minister Nick Boles was branded a liar and a fool by countryside campaigners yesterday as he renewed calls to build homes on greenfield land. Members of the Campaign to Protect Rural England repeatedly heckled Mr Boles and walked out as he told them those who resist house building will condemn rural villages to being "museum exhibits." The minister claimed quiet villages "need some noise" in the form of younger people or they will "become fossilised" or "embalmed." The group's annual meeting turned ugly when Mr Boles rejected CPRE members" claims that developers are to blame for the housing crisis by refusing to build on 400,000 plots that have planning permission. But the minister insisted it was the failure to release enough land in the countryside for development which was the problem. Several CPRE members repeatedly yelled "it's not true" and two stormed out of the meeting in central London, accusing Mr Boles of failing to listen to their objections. Richard Nicholls, chairman of the CPRE's Dorset branch, left saying: "I've had enough because the man doesn't even understand what planning is about. He knows nothing about planning. The man's a fool. A second angry member accused the minister of "not listening" and another yelled that he was being "so simplistic." Mr Boles lost his temper with the audience as he explained that of the 400,000 empty plots identified by the Local Government Association, only 126,000 are private developments that lie empty - the rest have building under way or are owned by housing associations. He accused the CPRE members of peddling "red herrings." Repeatedly banging his fist, he said: "If you want to just trade in urban myths, fine. But I believe that a government minister has a duty to deal in facts. Those are the facts. CPRE president Sir Andrew Motion - the former poet laureate - branded the minister "Boles the Builder" and said he "does a great harm" to the countryside by refusing to admit that brownfield land is better suited to development than greenfield sites. He leapfrogs brownfield sites and lands with a bricky crunch in the open countryside. He speaks up for greenfield housing estates rather than the green fields themselves," Sir Andrew said. Former Poet Laureate and CPRE president Sir Andrew Motion called the minister 'Boles the Builder'. He said Mr Boles 'does a great harm' to the countryside Shaun Spiers, CPRE chief executive, accused Mr Boles of behaving "like a Russian tsar" by accepting assurances from Whitehall officials that the planning system is working, rather than getting out around the country to see for himself - a charge the minister rejected. But Mr Boles warned that failure to release land for development would leave the young unable to afford homes in rural areas. "In Devon, Cornwall, Shropshire, Sussex, the Cotswolds and the Yorkshire Dales some villages are inches away from becoming forever fossilised," he said. Their houses are so greatly prized by holidaymakers and those who have recently retired that young people working on nearby farms, local plumbers and carpenters and gardeners ... can't afford even the tiniest property. He added that instead of complaining, CPRE members should identify "ordinary fields" near roads where development can take place and called on councils to "identify the land that could take more houses."