Even those who reluctantly accept that the Green Belt is unlikely to be left untouched by development in the coming years will have been stopped in their tracks by a new report suggesting that Oxfordshire needs 100,000 homes by 2031.

When you realise the number of existing households in the county is put at 260,000, it gives you some idea of the enormity of what is proposed. It might be tempting to regard the figures as fanciful.

But it should be recalled that they are included in the Oxfordshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment, a document jointly commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council along with all the district councils.

The Government requires councils to obtain such assessments to make sure they are building enough homes. The author of the report, G.L. Hearn says the figure in part reflects the huge economic growth anticipated in the county, but it also makes clear that improvement in the affordability of housing was also a factor in coming to this figure. Again this is another Government requirement.

Yet if you asked any MP whether he or she thinks a fall in house prices is desirable, it is likely the answer would be fudged. For no party would want to tell tens of millions of voters that it is busily trying to knock thousands off their main capital asset or to plunge millions more into negative equity. At the same time, the argument that building tens of thousands of new homes will help control house prices in Oxfordshire also deserves some scrutiny.

Sure the laws of demand and supply will come into play, but do not for a minute assume that covering acres of Green Belt land with houses will lead to house prices either dropping, or even being pegged in Oxfordshire. For even after hard negotiations, only a proportion of new homes in any new settlement will be built as affordable, or for local families or key workers perhaps.

The CPRE is right to suggest that all these new homes would merely attract further net migration into the county, making it a magnet for people working in London and elsewhere. The homes would be affordable all right, but for commuters, putting further strain on the county’s roads and overburdened infrastructure.

There have been significant levels of immigration, with large number of skilled workers and researchers coming here a clear sign of the county’s economic strength. But it is a nonsense to simply work out how many people live in Oxfordshire, how many are homeless, and how many will work here in the future. For the reality is Oxfordshire is a hugely attractive place to live — and new settlements with good road and rail links will attract newcomers from London and Europe, ensuring demand will continue to outstrip supply just as long as Oxfordshire provides homes and yes green fields.