The DUP man hailed the reworked PPS 21 – signed off by the Executive on Thursday – as a balanced alternative to the "draconian" PPS 14 policy.

But the SDLP chairman of the environment committee, Patsy McGlone, said four out of five people hoping to build rural homes would be denied the opportunity under the regulations.

Mr Wilson insisted the measures were fair, stressing they would not pave the way for a "free-for-all" in building.

"If Patsy McGlone had his way, there would be a property in every field and Northern Ireland would become one massive building site," he said.

"Draft PPS 21 will open the door for approved applications in much greater numbers.

"It will make it easier for farmers to apply for new-builds. Where people have derelict buildings on their land, they will be able to redevelop those into new properties which will make a huge difference.

"There are also huge allowances for social and affordable housing to be built in the country."

Earlier, Mr McGlone criticised the plans, saying: "This is PPS 14 in all but name and for 80 per cent of rural dwellers there is little in it.

"The majority of people of small holdings, people from areas that I would represent, really are not looked after or catered for in this proposed new document.

This isn't a balanced policy, this certainly isn't a policy for the sustainability of rural communities, this doesn't sustain our rural communities, this denudes them of their most valuable asset – that's their people, their young people."

PPS 21 states applicants will only be given the go-ahead if they are replacing an existing dwelling, converting a pre-standing non-domestic property, such as a school building or church, or if the development is associated with an approved agricultural diversification enterprise.

Farmers who want to build new homes on their land will be limited to one every 10 years. They will also have to prove the farm is fully operational.

The minister vowed the new policy would provide more scope for the reuse and replacement of buildings.

This, he said, could provide a much-needed boost to the building trade, which has been under immense pressure during the economic downturn.

Mr Wilson promised to bring the proposal before the Assembly as soon as possible and is to make a further announcement on Tuesday to outline the full details.

The minister was tasked with drawing up the new strategy after PPS 14, introduced by direct rule minister Lord Rooker in 2006, was ruled unlawful by the High Court last year.

The judicial review found that it had been taken forward by the wrong governmental department – Regional Development as opposed to Environment.

Planning Service has an existing backlog of 2,000 applications for rural dwellings.

Last night, president of the Ulster Farmers' Union Graham Furey said signs for rural families were good.

He added: "We were extremely opposed to Lord Rooker's blanket ban on development in the countryside.

"We are now looking for more flexibility in rural planning to allow people with genuine cases to be able to build in their locality or farms.

"We will have to wait until this week when the full details of PPS 21 are revealed by the minister line-by-line before we can see exactly what kind of flexibility we can expect."