John Healey: Green light given on eco-town sites plus tougher standards for future homes

Greener living in Britain's first eco-towns will become a reality for up to 30,000 people in five years' time, as Housing Minister John Healey today announced the four sites that have passed the Government's tough standards to go through to the next planning phase, full public consultation and local planning approval.

Alongside the plans for eco-towns, Mr Healey announced tougher new energy standards for all new homes from 2016 to be zero carbon and launched a review to combine the Government's climate change and renewable energy planning policy statements.

With more than a quarter of Britain's CO2 emissions produced from homes, the announcements are a major step towards meeting the Government's green policy pledges and Britain's transition to a low carbon country.

The successful eco-town sites will pioneer innovative design and infrastructure for greener living. They are Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire, St Austell (China Clay) in Cornwall, Rackheath in Norfolk and North West Bicester in Oxfordshire. These sites have met the Government's tough standards during two years of thorough assessment.

Mr Healey announced that developers in the four successful locations will be able to bid for a share of £60m to support local infrastructure. He said he wanted to see at least six second wave areas and is making up to £5m available for councils to conduct further planning work on proposals.

Eco-towns will include:

• the toughest standards for sustainability, with smart meters to track energy use, community heat sources and charging points for electric cars
• smart, efficient, affordable homes taking their energy from the sun, wind and earth. Residents will be able to control the heat and ventilation of their homes at the touch of a button; and sell their surplus energy into the grid
• all homes located within ten minutes' walk of frequent public transport and everyday neighbourhood services
• parks, playgrounds and gardens that will make up 40 per cent - two fifths - of the towns. Children will attend local zero carbon schools, making use of the paths and cycle ways
• zero carbon buildings including shops, restaurants and public buildings. Car journeys will make up less than half of all journeys. And all the homes will reach at least level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes - including standards for energy efficiency, recycling, water efficiency and reduced pollution - saving a typical home £200-500 a year in energy bills.

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:

"The revolutionary concept of eco towns is a unique opportunity for us to confront two of the most urgent priorities as we embark on Building Britain's Future.

"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.

"I am delighted that Whitehill-Bordon, St Austell, Rackheath and North West Bicester have all been chosen to be pioneers for these new green communities and I hope people will seize the opportunity to be at the forefront of Britain's green revolution."

Housing Minister John 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 ten years' time will set the standard for every new town and community.

"We are leading the way on the world stage with these developments by radically rethinking how we design, plan and build our homes we can create zero carbon developments, which combine affordable housing with new green infrastructures and a higher quality of life.

"I recognise that the proposals can raise strong opinions, but climate change threatens us all and with our commitment to the eco-towns we are taking steps to meet this challenge and help build more affordable housing.

"We said we wanted to see up to ten eco-towns by 2020. Despite the recession I am giving the green light today to the first four pioneering proposals and making the offer to work with and help fund six more. The standards are high but I am confident of wider interest from developers and councils.

"One in three of Britain's homes in 2050 will be built between now and then, so we have to set clear, green standards for the future. I am confirming that all new homes from 2016 will have to meet a tough zero carbon standard, so they are cleaner, greener and cheaper to run. I'm publishing details of how designers and developers will have to meet this zero carbon commitment and we will work closely with the industry on the innovative building techniques and technologies required for the future."

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. Across the country interest is still high and many local authorities are considering development plans.

In a Parliamentary statement, Mr Healey confirmed tougher standards for all new homes to be zero carbon from 2016 and a review of the climate change planning policy statement, to ensure that it reflects the Government's recently announced climate change ambitions and provides a clear and up to date route map to carbon reductions by 2020 and beyond.

John Healey said:

"Planning is at the heart of delivering our ambitious climate change targets. The scale of the challenge is now clear, as is the imperative to plan and design for a low carbon economy. We will therefore review and combine the climate change and renewable energy PPSs, consulting in detail on proposals by the end of 2009."

It was also confirmed that the first tranche of successful bids for the HCA's low carbon infrastructure funding had been assigned to projects across the country. £11.85m will be shared across seven projects around the UK. This was first launched by the HCA in May as part of the Housing Stimulus Package set out in the Budget.

Notes to editors

1. The 4 first wave locations which are proposed to be included in the PPS - Whitehill-Bordon, St Austell (Clay Country), Rackheath (Norwich) and NW Bicester are all led or strongly supported by their local authorities who can see the potential for being a national green exemplar and for economic and housing growth to benefit their existing communities in terms of regeneration of place, higher quality jobs and new green infrastructure. It is important to note that each of these 4 first wave projects links well into existing development - they are big enough to function as a new settlement - but they are not isolated developments in the middle of the countryside.

2. Local communities already in these four areas will benefit now so as to make a start as trailblazers:

• They will be invited to be included in the DECC 15 green communities pilot programme which is to develop low carbon initiatives in local/voluntary  groups and small areas
• The 4 locations will share £60m of start up growth funding for 2009-11 to get demonstrator projects and exhibition homes on site to showcase new technologies and improve local facilities and infrastructure
• There will be help to establish sustainable transport projects (e.g. personal travel plans, cycling, walking) based on the Sustainable Travel Towns project
• Initiatives to improve biodiversity and create new green infrastructure which can start now ahead of the large developments
• expert help with design and masterplanning to involve the existing community in shaping the future plans.

3. The Eco-towns PPS provides significantly greater planning support for this type of development and we expect early applications from the first wave of schemes to be handled quickly. A timescale for these is likely to be:

4. Following publication of the Eco-town Prospectus in 2007 Communities and Local Government received 57 eco-town expressions of interest, shortlisted 15 in the April 2008 public consultation.  Since then the Department has carried out a major programme of work to assess the 15 shortlisted locations published in the consultation document and on alternatives to those submitted by local authorities. Last November a second round of consultation was launched including a draft Planning Policy Statement, a Sustainability Appraisal, and subsequently a financial assessment by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and around £1m of support for local authorities in helping to assess proposals in their areas.

5. Communities and Local Government have worked across Government and with the key infrastructure agencies - the Environment Agency, Natural England and Highways Agency. Widespread consultation has also taken detailed views from local authorities, many local organisations and over 18,000 people who have written to us. A summary of those consultation responses has also been published today. The eco-towns Challenge Panel of independent experts played a key role last year in probing and examining the submitted eco-town proposals. This will be maintained through the CABE Design Review process, CABE design support at local level, and the continuation of an independent Advisory Panel as the eco-town schemes are taken forward.

6. Local partners and government will need to look at new models of delivery including public/private partnerships, joint ventures and new approaches to capturing value. The Homes and Communities Agency will make it a priority to provide a focussed source of support, expertise and advice to local partners, starting with the schemes announced today. 

7. Eco-towns will also provide excellent opportunities to rethink the way we provide key local services. Eco-towns can pilot and test new ways of delivering public services as well as making them more sustainable and responsive to climate change such as new and innovative schools to meet the needs of new and existing residents. Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) will support eco-towns to ensure the design of schools, including travel to them, and the delivery of play and youth services and facilities are both innovative and sustainable. Communities and Local Government will work closely with the promoters of eco-towns and the relevant local authorities to look at how best to meet those needs with the aim of ensuring that each of the eco-towns has a zero-carbon school in  place by 2013.

8. Eco-towns can play a leading role in the development of electric cars through building in infrastructure such as charging points as a standard provision in all major public and services buildings. Communities and Local Government will work with all the eco-town locations to develop their potential for supporting this technology and in piloting the next generation of electric and hybrid cars.

9. The government consulted in December 2008 on the definition of the zero carbon homes standard. A zero carbon home is one where the net carbon emissions from all energy use in the home is equal to zero (or negative) across the year. The approach to zero carbon will involve high energy efficiency standards and on site renewable energy and locally connected heat supply to achieve a 70per cent reduction in the carbon emissions from the current standard; and allowable solutions to deal with the rest of the carbon emissions. Clean energy cash back and the renewable heat incentive will be available for zero carbon homes. The homes will be cheaper to run, and build in as a matter of course the ability for occupants to generate their own low carbon heat and electricity and be paid for doing so. For a "well-sited" PV (photovoltaic) of £825 per year, plus saving on energy bills of £140 could mean that  households could be £900 better off every year.

10. The current planning policy framework on climate change reflects the available thinking in 2007 before the Climate Change Act. It also pre-dates the UK's commitment to producing 15per cent of energy from renewables by 2020, yesterday's Renewable Energy Strategy and the proposals in this Spring's consultation on the Heat and Energy Savings Strategy. The intention is to update and combine the climate change supplement to PPS1 and PPS22 on renewable energy so as to set out a clear and challenging framework for delivering energy infrastructure and cutting carbon emissions consistent with national ambitions. The updated PPS will also reflect the importance of planning for the climate change we already expect and be properly integrated with the new suite of energy NPSs.

For more information go to www.communities.gov.uk/ecotowns