Eco-Towns Shortlist is revealed

April 12, 2008 – 6:33 pm

This month the Government has announced the fifteen potential sites for the ten new Eco Towns that it plans to build.  The fifteen sites shortlisted are: Bordon, Coltishall, Curborough, Elsenham, Ford, Hanley Grange, Imerys, Manby, Marston Vale, New Marston, Middle Quinton, Pennbury, Rossington, Rushcliffe and Weston Otmoor.

Over the next six months these fifteen sites will be whittled down into ten final sites.  It is proposed that five of these eco towns will be built by 2016 and the other five completed by 2020.

Plans have proved controversial in some areas with campaigners saying that the government is using this as a way to evade planning controls.  Grant Shapps the shadow housing minister has gone so far as to accuse the government of “eco-spin rather than a genuine attempt to address the environmental nature of our housing”.

The idea is that these environmentally friendly towns will be low energy, carbon neutral developments built from recycled materials.  The largest will provide between 15,000 and 20,000 new homes and will be the first new towns built since the 1960’s.  Officials have said that they should be “zero-carbon” developments and that each one should be exemplary in at least one area of sustainability such as green waste disposal or green energy production.

For more information see The Government website relating to this issue here.