First wave of eco towns given go-ahead: £60 million in Government support for local infrastructure available

The Government has announced the go-ahead for four eco-towns across England. The masterplans for the four in this 'first wave' of eco towns could be approved next year. The successful bids, which will still have to go through the planning process, were named as Rackheath, Norfolk; Whitehill Bordon, East Hampshire; North West Bicester and the China Clay Community scheme near St Austell, Cornwall.

Read comments on the eco towns from the Campaign for Better Transport

The four will be able to bid for a share of £60 million in Government support for local infrastructure.

Housing minister John Healey said he wanted to see at least six 'second-wave' developments and up to £5 million was being made available for councils to conduct further planning work on proposals.

Gordon Brown, who expanded the eco-town scheme from the original five towns to up to 10 when he first became Prime Minister, said the environmentally-friendly settlements were 'a unique opportunity" to address housing and climate change.

'Eco-towns will help to relieve the shortage of affordable homes to rent and buy and to minimise the effects of climate change on a major scale.

'They will provide modern homes with lower energy bills, energy efficient offices and brand new schools, community centres and services,' he said.

But the Conservatives accused the Government of presiding over an 'eco-con' which was mired in controversy.

Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said: 'Underneath the thick layers of greenwash, many of these schemes are unsustainable, unviable and unpopular, but Gordon Brown wants to impose them from Whitehall irrespective of local opinion.

'All the low-flush toilets in the world can't make dumping a housing estate on green fields somehow eco-friendly.

'At best, this scheme is a distraction from the more important task of reducing carbon emissions from our existing housing stock. At worst, it's a discredited gimmick from a discredited Government that's run out of ideas and run out of steam.'

More than £3 million has already been committed by the Government to the eco-towns project, paying for measures such as sustainability assessments for bids, financial support for local authorities and communications.

Eco-towns, like all new developments, have been affected by the downturn in the housing market and the wider recession, but it is hoped the interest in greener living"and the savings - for example on fuel bills - it can deliver will remain.

Union leaders welcomed the announcement of the successful eco-town bids, more than a year after the original shortlist of 15 potential developments was unveiled.

Campaign for Better Transport Executive Director Stephen Joseph, said: 'The Government is right to promote new sustainable housing development but whether these eco-town will be sustainable is down to the detail on transport provision.

'If built around major new roads – as the local council wants the Rackheath scheme to be – and without good public transport, local services, car-free areas and convenient cycling routes at their heart, these schemes will not deserve the eco-towns brand. It should be possible for people to live in these places without having to own a car.'

We were pleased to see that our call for the eco-town principles to be extended to 'eco-quarters' within existing towns seems to have been heeded and the most unpopular locations have been rejected. New developments within existing urban areas will often be easier to serve by public transport than stand-alone eco-towns, and eco-quarters could also set a wider example to be followed.

'We’d like to see some sustainable travel pilots with new developments to show that it’s possible to build and sell/let new housing centred round good public transport and car-free areas, with good local services and employment so as to reduce the need to travel, and without plentiful parking.'

The Government has made it clear that it is expecting identification of a 'second wave' of eco-towns through local and regional plans next year.

Mr Healey said: 'If Britain is going to be successful and safe from climate change in the future, we have to change the way we live now. More than a quarter of CO2 emissions come from houses, so we are not only making improvements now, we are establishing pioneering places that in 10 years' time will set the standard for every new town and community.'

Rossington near Doncaster and North-East Elsenham in Essex are still developing proposals for their sites and these could draw on the £5m second wave funding and wider Government support available.

In a separate but related development, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) has published new guidance, endorsed by the Government, on applying inclusive design principles to eco-town developments.

The eco-town project was intended to meet housing needs and tackle climate change, with as many as 10 environmentally-friendly settlements built by 2020, but has been dogged by controversy and opposition from local communities.

It is also hoped more eco-towns will come through regional and local plans in the future.