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Housing minister Keith Hill is to tell the deputy prime minister that the north of England should have a growth area similar to the four taking shape in the South-east.

Speaking on the sidelines of last week's Labour Party conference, Hill said Northern areas experienced high as well as low demand but that this was often overlooked. He said: "I am going to suggest to John Prescott that he looks at having a growth area in the North, possibly in the M62 corridor. This would recognise you're not dealing with a uniform situation in either the North or the South."

He said the move would mesh with the idea advanced by the Core Cities group of developing "regional hubs".

Northern housing professionals welcomed Hill's idea. One said: "This is very positive."

Another said: "ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ more homes along the M62 corridor would make a lot of sense given the height of demand here. In terms of the push to establish a housing market renewal pathfinder in West Yorkshire, it would fit very well with this as well."

Hill also expressed concern at the ability of the private rented sector to act as a safety valve in areas of limited housing choice: "My powerful impression is that we have a much smaller private rented sector in comparison with countries such as Germany, France and Scandinavia.

"This is a problem when you look at the issue of homeownership, where people are often faced with little option besides social housing or stretching themselves to buy a home. This is something that we need to look into changing as it has implications around labour mobility."

Hill also hinted at a future role for the Housing Partnership – the joint venture between English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation – in bringing back into use some of the 300,000 empty spaces above shops throughout the UK.

He said: "There ought to be private sector agencies to facilitate the use of empty spaces," he said. "We are looking at involving the Housing Partnership in this."

The number of empty homes in London has topped 83,000 according to figures compiled by the Empty Home Agency to mark the fourth annual London Week of Action on Empty Property, 13-17 October.