Eco-town media links - 14-30 April 2008

Local and national press links to articles and letters about the eco-town proposals published from 14th-30th April 2008

Worcester News, 26 April 2008

A Worcestershire MP has launched a stinging parliamentary attack on Government plans to build more houses in the county.

Mid-Worcestershire's Tory MP Peter Luff told the House of Commons he was outraged by the Government's "undemocratic" demand that house-building be increased even further than local authorities want over the next 20 years.

Worcester's Labour MP Mike Foster has defended the Government's stance, saying more homes are needed to combat the severe shortage of affordable housing which is now affecting thousands of families in Worcester.

Tesco village

The Spectator, 26 April 2008

I have been trying all week to work out exactly what an 'eco-town' is, and have finally come to the conclusion that the term is derived from Umberto Eco, the Italian professor of semiotics whose novels revolve around dark conspiracies. In fact, for his next work he may well care to investigate how New Labour's cardinals came to designate 15 sites across England for vast new housing developments.

The process certainly doesn't owe a lot to democracy. Let's just take one of the 'ecotowns' announced last week. Twenty years ago developers put forward proposals for a new town on farmland outside Hinxton, just off the A11 ten miles south of Cambridge. The proposal went through the normal planning process and was rejected by Cambridgeshire's planners as being an unsuitable site: not being attached to any existing town, it would simply become a commuter dormitory.

Ten years ago the government decided that it no longer trusted Conservativedominated councils to allocate sites for new housing, fearing that the Nimby tendency was thwarting the expansion of the nation's housing stock. To that end it set up regional assemblies, made up of councillors, business leaders, quangocrats, trade union leaders and assorted worthies to influence planning decisions over a much wider area.

Eco-build opposed

Worcester News, 25 April 2008

Councillors from Wychavon have spoken out against plans for a eco town development in the district.

The councillors agreed a motion to strongly oppose the proposal to create an eco town at Long Marston, which is often described as being in Warwickshire but does partly sit within Worcestershire and the Wychavon district.

Councillors agreed that developing the town at Long Marston would be detrimental to the Wychavon district and the surrounding communities.

Cotswold Journal, 25 April 2008

A dramatic bid to derail plans for an eco-town at Long Marston by developing a neighbouring site a third of the size has been launched this week.

The group behind the latest move claims a 2,500 home development on the neighbouring Long Marston airfield would be sufficient to meet the area's housing needs for the foreseeable future.

Lodders Solicitors in Stratford confirmed they had sent Stratford District Council a letter of intent on behalf of H G Hodges & Son, which owns the airfield, that detailed this alternative scheme' for consideration.

Victor Matts of Lodders said: "The Hodges family would be prepared to offer the land to the council to fulfil the local housing need as an alternative to the eco-town scheme.

"Importantly, it would need the backing of the local community and the council to proceed and would be scrapped if the eco-town plans went ahead."

Anger grows on eco-town

Planning, 25 April 2008

An eco-town proposed near Stratford-upon-Avon could have a 'disastrous impact' on the tourist trade drawn to the home of Shakespeare, councillors heard this week.

A motion is to be debated by Stratford-on-Avon District Council next month after residents demonstrated outside the local authority's offices against the 6,000-home settlement at Middle Quinton. Opponents fear that the town's size - two-thirds that of Stratford itself - would cause gridlock and deter visitors.

Councillors will meet again on 12 May. They will also consider whether the scheme needs a business element to ensure that it does not just become part of the Midlands commuter belt.

Meanwhile, Arun District Council in West Sussex is to consider whether to set up a group with an independent planner to scrutinise proposals for an eco-town at Ford near Littlehampton.

Leading Article: The eco plague

The Daily Telegraph, 24 April 2008

Orchid House is not just a country home - it is an eco-home. And thanks to those three little letters, and its position in a Cotswold nature reserve, it has been sold for pounds 7.2 million.

In this case, the "eco'' description is probably apt, given the whizzy technology employed in the house's construction and operation. Yet that prefix has, since its arrival in the late 1960s, become something of a plague, not to mention a weapon in the hands of the marketeers: a tax on cars is billed as an "eco-tax'', and drivers are meant to cough up with glee; new towns plonked in the countryside are "eco-towns'', and so must be welcomed by councils and locals alike.

We await the first criminal to defend himself as an "eco-thief'' - arguing in mitigation that by stealing his victim's car, or television, he has also cut their carbon emissions.

Shakespeare makes his stand. . .

Stratford Herald, 24 April 2008 (Front page photo caption)

In Stratford on Shakespeare’s Birthday yesterday (Wednesday), a protester dressed as the Bard makes his stand against the proposed Long Marston eco-town.

Campaigners have produced a sonnet in Shakespearean language opposing the project which is directed at the government. It ends: “This vale the Bard made sacred with his pen, That you should sacrifice to bloated greed, With Flint-knapped words to trick the minds of men - Heed now the bell, long silent in its tower, It speaks of England’s wrath, late tho’ the hour.”

Man from the ministry fails to quell fears of 11,600 new homes

Stratford Herald, 24 April 2008

Fears that the Stratford district could be swamped by up to 11,600 new homes over the next few years were fuelled this week by a Whitehall mandarin’s refusal to deny the prospect.

At the same time a surprise intervention in the eco-town controversy by Long Marston airfield has added a bizarre new twist to the story.

Meanwhile, proposals for the 6,000-home eco-town at Long Marston—or Middle Quinton as it is now being called—exploded onto the local election agenda as the opposition Liberal Democrats on Stratford District Council accused the ruling Conservatives of being “in total disarray” and of “fighting among themselves” on the issue.

Cllr Hazel Wright (Lib Dem, Studley), the opposition leader, said the Tories’ decision to block a debate on the eco-town at Monday’s full meeting of the council was intended to cover up the Tory splits until after next Thursday’s elections.

Stratford District Council’s decision to wait for a full report on the eco-town project from council officials and debate the subject at a special meeting on 12th May is in marked contrast to neighbouring Evesham based Wychavon District Council. On Tuesday night that council voted vigorously against the Long Marston scheme—without waiting for a report from officials.

Protesters denied chance to speak

Stratford Observer, 24 April 2008

Protestors were left hanging as Stratford councillors postponed a debate on the proposed Long Marston eco-town.

Dozens of campaigners crammed into a district council meeting on Monday (April 21) to voice their opposition to the development.

But the naysayers were denied the chance to put forward their views after the council voted to delay discussions until more information became available.

The debate was re-scheduled to May 12 to allow the preparation of a more detailed report on the proposals - but Chief Executive Paul Lankester admitted this would still be limited.

He said: “This is not something that can be dealt with in one hit. It is a really difficult thing to give clear and unequivocal advice as the information is not in our hands. I would not want to see the council in a position where they are not able to make up their own mind on decisions.”

Evesham Journal, 24 April 2008

A sensational new 2,500 home development at Long Marston Airfield to rival the neighbouring eco town development has emerged this week.

Lodders Solicitors in Stratford confirmed that Stratford District Council received a letter of intent from them on behalf of H. G. Hodges & Son Ltd, who own the airfield, and which detailed an alternative scheme' for consideration.

Victor Matts of Lodders said: "The Hodges family would be prepared to offer the land to the council to fulfil the local housing need as an alternative to the eco town scheme.

"Importantly, it would need the backing of the local community and the council to proceed, and would be scrapped if the eco town plans went ahead."

Stratford District Council have yet to receive any planning application for the proposal, but confirmed they had received the letter and that no decision had been made.

Colin Staves, policy, heritage and design manager at Stratford District Council, said: "A proposal of this nature would have to be considered through the preparation of the local development framework, and would be one of the options that would have to be tested to be part of the process."

Birmingham Post, 24 April 2008

Too many new houses are set to be built in the West Midlands, an MP has claimed.

Peter Luff (Con Mid Worcestershire) said he accepted the need for new homes, but attacked proposals for more than 400,000 new dwellings over the next 20 years.

In the Commons, he said the figures were based on an assumption that immigration would continue at high levels - but Eastern Europeans were already starting to return to their home countries.

He also claimed the dramatic increase in the cost of buying a home had been caused by "irresponsible" banks lending too much, and not by a lack of housing stock.

But Local Government Minister Parmjit Dhanda insisted more homes were needed. He said: "The Government need to take urgent action to address growing housing demand and the serious issue of housing affordability."

Eco-town protesters in picket

Coventry Evening Telegraph, 23 April 2008

Protestors have again picketed Stratford council over plans to build a controversial eco-town in Warwickshire.

Angry residents living in and around Long Marston, near Stratford, have urged district councillors to turn down plans to build 6,000 environmentally-friendly homes on their doorstep.

A group, organised by Bard (Better Accessible Responsible Development), demonstrated outside the Stratford District Council offices on Monday.

They claim there has not been enough consultation for the project, which they say is unsustainable because of a lack of infrastructure in the area.

The site at Middle Quinton, a former military base, is one of 15 across England that have been shortlisted by the government.

Letter - Eco town battle has only just begun

Birmingham Post, 23 April 2008

Dear Editor, I read with great interest the article by Julian Shellard of CB Richard Ellis and have to disagree with him about a number of points.

Firstly his so called battle over Eco Towns is not already won, certainly with regard to some of the chosen sites. No one can really disagree with the principle of carbon neutral homes but all of us have the right to point out to Government when we think they have got their plans wrong.

The document, Eco-Towns Living a Greener Future produced by the DCLG, is full of double speak and glosses over many of the issues, simply because the rules of the game (using the tennis match analogy) can be the subject of change by the umpire, in this case Caroline Flint.

There are too many points to make in this short response, but in the case of Middle Quinton there is one glaringly obvious fact. The Long Marston Camp was built during The Second World War and was sited for strategic reasons in the heart of the countryside, to conceal it from prying eyes and marauding bombers. It is connected to Stratford Upon Avon (approximately five miles away) by the B4632 which is a winding second class road with a poor safety record and which is just being downgraded to a 50 mile speed limit.

The other access to Stratford is a decommissioned single track rail line, which is now a recreational route for pedestrians and cyclists (The Greenway). Section 2 Paragraph 3 (1) of the DCLG states 'Eco-towns must be separate and distinct from existing towns but well linked to them.' Middle Quinton (which incidentally doesn't exist) is certainly 'separate and distinct' but is definitely not well linked to them. Try going south from Long Marston to anywhere and all you have are winding country roads, totally unsuitable for heavy traffic.

There are a number of so-called Eco-towns being held up as exemplars, namely Vauben in Saxony, Germany, and Hammarby, in Stockholm, Sweden. Vauben is a suburb of Freiberg which when built had broadly the same aims as our 'Browns Towns.' Now they have had to rethink their transport ideas because this much-heralded experiment in "green living" is slipping back toward allowing its residents more convenient access to their cars. The LA Times reports that idealism is being "defeated by the demands of work, after-school activities, social life and shopping." Hammarby is a suburb of Stockholm and is well served by train, tram and water links; you can even catch a ferry to the city centre.

As far as the Long Marston site goes, how can this isolated rural site even begin to compare with the exemplars cited?

It is simply inconceivable that you could build a self sustaining community in the heart of Warwickshire. People are going to commute to work, they are going to visit families and families visit them. The residents will leave for recreational reasons, eg to visit The Villa or Birmingham City. Goods and services will need to be delivered to the community. How? By road of course.

They are all going to pass through Stratford upon Avon over a 500 year-old bridge that is already crumbling. The M40 is 15 miles away and the M5 can only be accessed with great difficulty via country lanes. There are far more suitable sites elsewhere, unless of course you want to strangle one of Britain's most famous towns.

We here are not NIMBYs but rules are rules, and Long Marston does not conform to the Government's own standards, laid down in their own prospectus dated July 2007.

As a tennis match this is by no means 'game set and match' for Long Marston, and in any event, will the umpire have changed the colour of his/her uniform before the match is over? This will be a long fought and bitter battle, but the right thing to do would be for the Government to play by the rules and drop Middle Quinton on June 30th.

Maurice Howse, Stratford upon Avon

Letter - A realist rather than a tree-hugger

Birmingham Post, 22 April 2008

Dear Editor, As a resident of Long Marston I read Julian Shellard's recent article with interest. By any measure, the village could not be a less appropriate location for an eco-town. Sorry Julian, I am neither NIMBY nor tree-hugger. I am, instead, a realist.

Perhaps Julian, and his friends Caroline (Flint) and Gordon (Brown) might tour round with me. They'd see Long Marston bears little resemblance to eco-towns in Hammerby in Stockholm or Vauban in Frieberg, Germany - the virtues of which they seem to repeatedly extol. These were built deep within already built-up areas with well-established infrastructure. In contrast, Long Marston is a remote countryside location, six miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, linked to local villages and towns by often narrow, rural roads.

Julian and pals, come between 7am and 9am, or 4.30pm and 6.30pm. Experience rush hour through villages. People take the shortest, most convenient route from A to B - whether or not their houses have solar panels and their waste water is recycled.

Add another 6,000 cars per day (12,000 journeys) transporting eco-town residents to work and you too might wonder how that meets your eco-agenda.

Developers have said they'll ensure some of the residents will find employment within the town. So, what of the rest?

Stratford District has almost no unemployment so these 6000 or so residents of the new town will need to travel major distances to find it.

Government itself has said eco towns should have "good links to surrounding towns and cities for jobs, transport and services". Yet Long Marston can't even link a proposed electric tram to the nearest main railway.

So, here's some realism for you: in rural areas, given a choice of limited public transport or personal car for journeys to work, the car will win - every time. Convenience will win over conscience.

I applaud sustainable design and environmentally friendly infrastructure - who doesn't? But it shouldn't take locals being derided as NIMBYs or tree-huggers, just to demonstrate the Government's eco ideology is fatally flawed if it chooses sites in isolated rural areas, with inadequate transport links to adjacent conurbations, albeit once owned by the MoD.

Long Marston, is a remote country location with little new regional housing need and no regeneration requirements.

Call us what you like - it's still the wrong location for an eco town.

Angela Dandy, Long Marston

Letter - Best option for use of land at Longbridge

Birmingham Post, 22 April 2008

Dear Editor, It is very disappointing that Nanjing have not managed to produce cars at Longbridge, and it will be even more disappointing if they give up entirely.

But if the worst happens, and Nanjing go away, it will free up approximately a third of the Longbridge land, and call into question the development framework agreed by Birmingham City Council and Bromsgrove Council.

The best solution would be for this land to be used for high-tech cutting-edge modern industry or research - developing the High Technology Corridor promoted by Advantage West Midlands in which small start-ups would take place at Pebble Mill or the Birmingham Battery site while Longbridge would provide the larger sites for production or research centres.

Other constructive uses of the land would give more to Bournville College, so that they could have some room for future expansion, more land for car parking to serve the college and all the other developments on the site, substantially more land for park-and-ride near Longbridge station, and to preserve the alignment of the railway line so that people who live in or near Frankley can one day have a fast rail link to the city centre and beyond that does not depend on busy roads.

Birmingham Post, 22 April 2008

Residents battling Government proposals to turn a former Ministry of Defence depot into a 6,000-home eco-town may have another fight on their hands as details emerged of plans for another "new community" in Warwickshire.

Campaigners waving placards outside Stratford-on-Avon District Council's chamber yesterday left councillors in no doubt of their fierce opposition to the proposed eco-town, dubbed Middle Quinton, at Long Marston.

It is one of 15 sites shortlisted by the Government, announced earlier this month, which also included a site in Curborough, near Fradley, Staffordshire.

Middle Quinton would cover 593 acres and include four schools, health and community facilities and public transport links. Ministers intend to choose 10 locations for their final list of eco-towns.

A planned debate on the issue, following a report from Councillor Isobel Seccombe (Con Ettington) on the impact an eco-town could have on Stratford, was deferred. An extraordinary meeting will now be held on May 12.

The Guardian, April 22 2008

Greens do not want the building of eco-towns or think that wind turbines in remote places are the answer to our woes (The cost of green tinkering is in famine and starvation, April 16). What is advocated is an upgrade of present villages, towns and cities to eco standards, with development on brownfield sites where communications are pre-existing.

We want a mix of the least damaging energy sources subsidised by other modes as and when needed. Greens do not advocate fuels that create more damage but wish that people could use less, travel by public transport and, God forbid, walk once in a while. Reduction and conservation are the main principles, with other arguments tiered above these basic ideas.

We especially do not want to pass on costs, whether environmental or physical, to other countries or people, and particularly not to children. So to suggest that environmentally conscious people are causing the starvation of poor people is an affront. Starvation and malnutrition have been issues for generations and are not caused by those who advocate less, but by those who desire and pursue more.

It is the present economic system married to the concept of GDP - which encourages continual transfers of money and resources, despite evidence that happiness is not linked to the perpetual selling and buying of goods - that is at fault.

Leicester Mercury, 22 April 2008

The eco-town consultation has apparently already begun.

While other "eco-town" bids are fully supported by detailed master plans, we in Leicestershire are in the dark in that we have no detailed information about Pennbury. So, what exactly are we being consulted on or about?

Not only are residents in the dark but so too are the borough and district authorities and the county council. The "Code of Practice on Consultation", set out by the Government's Cabinet Office, informs us that the minimum period is 12 weeks for written consultation.

The code also stipulates that consultation should be "clear, concise and widely accessible".

Call to council over eco-town bid

BBC News, 21 April 2008

Protesters have called on councillors to reject plans for a so-called "eco-town" in south Warwickshire.

The site at Middle Quinton, near Long Marston, is among 15 in England shortlisted by the government to become new "environmentally-friendly" towns.

But a demonstration has taken place outside Stratford-on-Avon District Council offices.

Protesters are worried about the impact of the 6,000 new homes and say there has not been sufficient consultation.

Opponents from the Better Accessible Responsible Development (Bard) Campaign believe the development will lead to congestion in nearby villages as new home owners travel to work and take children to school.

Western Morning News, 21 April 2008

The Government's proposed eco-towns will have strict anti-car measures, it has been revealed.

If the sites put forward by Cornwall's china clay company Imerys are granted eco-town status, many motorists will have to leave their cars at a park-and-ride holding on the edge of the town.

Disabled people, visitors and "car club" members will be able to drive into the towns and park in them, under recommendations put forward by the Department for Transport.

Geoffrey Cox, MP for Torridge and West Devon, said: "I'm all in favour of the creation of towns that minimise the need for the car but it's essential that you provide the facilities and the services that replace the car and that includes a well-functioning public transport service.

"It's no use putting an eco-town in the middle of rural areas, and expect people to go without the use of their cars."

Harborough Mail, 21 April 2008

CAMPAIGNERS fighting the Co-op's 15,000-house eco-town bid have reacted with 'extreme dissapointment' with the Co-op's new website.

Bosses at Co-op sent emails last week priming people for the website's launch (today, Monday, April 21) with many hoping it might reveal more detailed plans about Co-op's bid on land between Great Glen and Stoughton.

But the website reveals no further details about the bid.

Council warning over eco-towns plan

Bucks Free Press, April 21 2008

PLANS to build two eco-towns in neighbouring counties could have a knock-on affect in Buckinghamshire, a senior councillor has warned.

The schemes for Marston Vale in Bedfordshire and Weston Otmoor in Oxfordshire had implications' for the county said councillor Martin Tett.

The shortlist of 15 eco-towns - aimed at producing more environmentally friendly houses - was announced earlier this month.
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Two schemes had been put forward for developers for Buckinghamshire but did not make it onto the shortlist.

These were Wescott and Great Horwood airfield, near Aylesbury.

Birmingham Mail, 18 April 2008

A MYSTERY millionaire has come to the aid of a group of rural Warwickshire protesters looking to protect their village from Government development.

The businessman - who wants to keep his identity a secret but is believed to be one of the richest men in the country - donated £100,000 to villagers at Long Marston, near Stratford-upon- Avon, which the Government has put on a shortlist of sites for one of its controversial eco-towns.

Delighted campaigners said they would be using the money to pay for one of the country's top legal minds to fight their corner as the planning row goes on.

At the start of this month, a disused MoD site next to Long Marston was placed on a shortlist of 15 sites, from which the Government plans to build ten eco-towns.

Call to council over eco-town bid

BBC News Online, 21 April 2008

Protesters have called on councillors to reject plans for a so-called "eco-town" in south Warwickshire.

The site at Middle Quinton, near Long Marston, is among 15 in England shortlisted by the government to become new "environmentally-friendly" towns.

But a demonstration is planned to take place outside Stratford-on-Avon District Council offices.

Protesters are worried about the impact of the 6,000 new homes and say there has not been sufficient consultation.

The full council meeting begins at 1400 BST.

Opponents from the Better Accessible Responsible Development (Bard) Campaign, believe the development will lead to congestion in nearby villages as new home owners travel to work and take children to school.

Campaigners' picket gets message across

Harborough Mail, 19 April 2008

PLACARD-waving campaigners fighting plans for an eco-town in the Harborough district picketed Harborough District Council's offices last week to protest against the 'secrecy' of the plans.

Co-op’s eco-town bid for up to 15,000 homes on land it owns between Great Glen and Stoughton was shortlisted as one of 15 possible sites by the Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government on April 3.

The department’s head of ‘growth areas’ Henry Cleary met Harborough District Council officers behind closed doors last Wednesday afternoon prompting campaigners to stage a protest outside while the meeting was being held.

Cllr Steve Charlish, a district councillor for Billesdon, said members of Cascet (Campaign Against the Stoughon Co-op Eco-town) were frustrated at the ‘secrecy’ of the meeting.

Harborough Mail, 19 April 2008

THE CONTROVERSIAL bid to build an eco-town in Harborough district will be discussed at a public meeting in Tugby.

The consultation process surrounding Co-op's plan for up to 15,000 homes between Stoughton and Great Glen will be discussed at a Have Your Say meeting at The Tugby Centre on Tuesday from 7pm

Policing matters will also be in the spotlight.

Representatives from the council and police will be present.

Dame Judi backs fight to block eco-town plan

Coventry Evening Telegraph, 19 April 2008

A MYSTERY donation of £100,000 has been given to a campaign to stop an eco-town being built in rural Warwickshire.

The Bard (Better Accessible Responsible Development) campaign is protesting against plans to build a 6,000-home town on disused MOD land next to the village of Long Marston.

The campaigners say a new town should not be located near the home of Shakespeare because it is of such national importance. The proposed town is on a shortlist of 15 sites, from which the government hopes to build 10 eco-towns.

Villagers in Long Marston believe such a town would devastate the area and cause major problems with traffic and infrastructure. The campaign is being backed by the actress Dame Judi Dench and the magazine magnate and billionaire Felix Dennis. It is believed the money, donated by an anonymous benefactor, will be used to pay for legal advice.

Eco-town idea has major flaws

Western Daily Press, 18 April 2008

his Labour Government has voiced its intention to build an "eco-town" on 60,000 acres of England's agricultural land - yes, 60,000 acres - but stated that "of course [they] would go through proper planning procedure".

This Government is notorious for twisting and changing our laws to suit its purpose, when it wishes to impose it.

In England, we are overstretched, and it's sacrilegious to build another town we do not need, which gobbles up essential green acres of land, just to fill the builders' pockets.

In 1924, there were 759 towns and cities in England, as opposed to 119 in Scotland. Taking into account the difference in size of each country, that still has to be way out of proportion. I don't know today's figures in England because the Office of National Statistics in London says it can't tell me, because it doesn't have that data!

I viewed that statement with utter disbelief, as such fundamental information must be available but, whatever the number, the ratio between the two countries today must still be unbalanced.

Leicester Mercury, 18 April 2008

In his letter "Why Pennbury is great news" (Mailbox, April 7), Simon Bingham wrote that most Nimbyism has nothing to do with the environment - it is about people wanting to protect their own house prices.

I cannot see how he has worked this out.

If you own your own house and want to move it makes little difference which way the market goes.

If they are low you won't get as much for the one you sell. But won't have to pay so much for the one you buy. If they are high you get more for yours and pay more for your next one.

Yorkshire Post, 18 April 2008

HERE is my radical idea for the future of housing in Britain – dump the ridiculous political conceit that is Gordon Brown's eco-towns programme, and, instead, divert some of that investment money and all of that ministerial clout into making our rural villages sustainable and affordable places to live.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? So, why hasn't anyone in government seized on it as the great way forward? I know, I know, there will be numerous political reasons why.

But is there anything that is really so crazy about the notion? It is make-do-and-mend, in a way, and we're all supposed to be tightening our belts. Rather than spending billions on building something new, it would be more sensible to improve what we've got – by securing infrastructure such as flood defences and roads around existing villages, guaranteeing a future for the Post Offices, shops and transport services under threat, and creating a forward thinking planning policy which promotes sensitive inclusion of eco-aware new homes within established communities suffering from a lack of affordable and modern housing.

The eco-towns programme is nothing more than a toy, a distraction from the real and biting problems that are affecting the housing market at every level, from the withdrawal of mortgages to bricklayers losing their jobs.

Exciting plans, but show us details

Cornish Guardian, 16 April 2008

Exhibitions were launched this week showing details of Imerys' Clay Country Vision.

Members of the public have been invited to attend the roadshow to view the plans for six sites, which were unveiled last week, and give their comments about the 20-year plans.

The company has said that it will take all comments into consideration when it draws up the details of the plans.

This week local people gave their views on the Imerys vision.

Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for St Austell and Newquay, Stephen Gilbert said: "The overall vision that Imerys have put together is potentially very exciting, but the devil will be in the detail.

"We need to make sure the jobs will be there to support the new homes. Although Imerys has earmarked land for employment, past experience has shown us that it can be difficult to attract firms even when employment space is subsidised.

This plan is in the wrong place

Leicester Mercury, 16 April 2008

As a local resident, I am most concerned that the Pennbury eco-town proposal submitted by Co-operative Estates has been shortlisted.

Gordon Brown when introducing the concept of eco-towns stressed that they should be sited on derelict industrial sites or disused airfields.

To describe the area in this submission, with its small active flying club lying amid acres of rolling farmland, as "industrial derelict" or "disused airfield" is to stretch credulity to absurd lengths.

The ecological advantages of growing food locally as one method of curbing greenhouse gases is becoming ever more apparent. If this development were to go ahead it would result in a vast decrease of high-quality farming land producing local produce.

Fight eco-town, says plan expert

Leicester Mercury, 16 April 2008

The former head of planning for Leicester has slammed plans for an eco-town on the city's edge.

Expert John Dean says land around estates like Beaumont Leys could accommodate thousands of homes. Abandoned or empty homes in Leicestershire could be used, rendering the need for an eco-town obsolete, he said. There are close to 14,000 of these in the county.

Mr Dean has more than 45 years of planning experience and was Leicester's senior planning officer for two decades until 1993. One of his major projects was the refurbishment and renewal of housing in Highfields and Belgrave, Leicester.

Thousands of protestors, including senior officers from the county's councils, say the site owned by Co-op Estates is not suitable for up to 15,000 new homes.

Mr Dean said: "A new town built just to the east of Leicester and a short stroll from the developed area of Oadby is absurd.

Residents say no to eco-town

COUNCILS and residents are being urged to send a "robust message" against plans to build an ecotown near Hinxton.

More than 60 people attended a public meeting organised by Hinxton Parish Council on Monday night to discuss how residents can help to fight the Hanley Grange scheme, which could see 8,000 homes built next to the village.

Last night, Andrew Lansley, MP for Cambridgeshire South, held more talks on the proposals.

He met with Jim Paice, MP for Cambridgeshire South East and Sir Alan Haselhurst, MP for Saffron Walden, along with county, district and parish councillors.

Tim Stone, a South Cambridgeshire district councillor said: "We need to send a robust message to the Government now to say that we do not want this development."

The Government is currently consulting on 15 proposed eco-town sites across the country.

Financial Times, April 15 2008

The number of national infrastructure projects that will be fast-tracked through the planning system is a cause for concern, says the chairman of the Local Government Association.

The planning bill, which will pass through the Lords this year, allows big projects to be waved through if they are approved by a new infrastructure planning commission. But Sir Simon Milton told the FT that more than 40 projects ranging from trunk roads to wind farms had been put forward by the government - more than the "single figure" number that would be appropriate.

The LGA is urging the government to tighten up the wording of the bill.

"We appreciate that major strategic planning decisions like [Heathrow's] Terminal 5 can get bogged down for years and years in the process," said Sir Simon. "We have said OK with respect to airports and nuclear power stations, but we believe the definition is far too loose."

The Guardian, 15 April 2008

Simon Jenkins criticises eco-towns and insists that "cities are the new green" (Eco-towns are the greatest try-on in the history of property speculation, April 4); Dermot Finch, meanwhile, concurs that "eco-towns are a distraction" and believes we should be focusing our efforts on greening our cities rather than building eco-towns (Eco-towns are not the answer to climate change or housing needs, April 8). But why can't we do both?

The effects of the acute housing shortage are well known, with many families and first-time buyers priced out of the market. That's why we must build another 3m homes over the next 12 years. But we also have to make sure that we design and build homes in better ways. That is why eco-towns are important - creating new, affordable housing in areas of greatest need, while also trialling new ways of designing and building to ensure the whole town is zero carbon. Successful technologies can then be extended to all new developments and retrofitted to existing homes.

Contrary to Jenkins' assertion, eco-towns won't be banning cars. But with better public transport, and proper planning of major facilities, we can help to reduce people's dependence on cars. Take the example of Vauban in Germany, a newly built district of Freiburg where half the households simply don't need a car; or the difference the fast-track bus scheme has made in the Thames Gateway.

Column - Danger of eco-towns

Nottingham Evening Post, 14 April 2008

A Few weeks ago in this column I was bemoaning the fact the word environmental had so many varied meanings it was almost meaningless.

Now I find one of the locations on the latest Government short-list for a new 'eco-town' includes a designated nature reserve which will damage a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Thankfully the site isn't in Notts but this is only a small mercy; we have had a site included on the list but no one knows where except it will be somewhere in Rushcliffe. Surely if no suitable site has been identified then the county should have been excluded from the list?

As for the inclusion of a designated nature reserve, this has outraged our sister Wildlife Trust in Oxfordshire as they have managed it for nearly 20 years and the developer that plans to build 10,000 to 15,000 homes on the land hasn't even had the decency to talk to them about it!

Whilst I'm not against the idea of eco-towns, it is essential they are actually based upon ecological principles.

Leicester Mercury, 14 April 2008

A panel of TV presenters, environmentalists and planning experts will appraise the 15 remaining eco-town projects, the Government has said.

The individuals have been signed up because they will be in the best position to advise developers on creating public transport and housing,

Plans for the village of Pennbury, which could see up to 15,000 homes between Stoughton and Great Glen were named on the shortlist this month. The scheme has attracted criticisms from groups such as Campaign Against Stoughton Co-op Eco-Town, who say it will spoil the area.

Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 14 April 2008

Oh God, don't let it happen here!

Be under no illusions: If the authorities succeed in the bid to build 5,000, or even more, new houses at Manby and Strubby, you can kiss goodbye to Louth as you know it.

I know: I have been through this before. In the 1960s, Northampton Council betrayed my hometown to the developers under the guise of an exciting new future for us all.

Bigger roads were built and were immediately chock-a-block with new traffic, their roar filling the air for miles around. You learnt to time your trips to avoid the rush hour and plan your routes along the 'rat runs' - country lanes along which you once used to ride your pony, now turned into race tracks, which cut out the main roads.

Birmingham Post, 14 April 2008

Developers behind plans to build a 5,000-home settlement on the outskirts of Lichfield could be forgiven for thinking they had won the lottery when the 700-acre site was nominated by the Government as one of 10 possible locations for an eco-town. By a strange coincidence, the proposals worked up over several years by the Curborough Consortium bear a remarkable similarity to the density and scale of the type of environmentally-friendly scheme Ministers are currently considering.

It is as yet unclear whether the site, a former airfield at Fradley, will make it on to the eco-town approved list, along with proposals for 6,000 homes on a former MoD depot at Long Marston, near Stratford-upon-Avon. But the very fact that the Government believes both locations may be suitable for large-scale housing development puts the local planning authorities in a difficult position.

Lichfield Council, for example, has already rejected the Fradley site. Ten years ago, when considering future housing provision, the council decided that the former airfield was not the right place to construct a new village, let alone suitable for a town which when completed is likely to be home to about 20,000 people.

The Birmingham Post,14 April 2008

Controversial proposals to build a 5,000-home town on the outskirts of Lichfield - in what is believed to be the largest planning application of its kind in the West Midlands for more than half a century - have been submitted by developers.

The new settlement, to be called Curborough, would spring up on 700 acres of a disused airfield at Fradley - a site already earmarked by the Government as one of 10 possible eco-towns across the country.

But the scheme is likely to be fiercely resisted by the planning authority Lichfield District Council, which regards what is being proposed as over-development and is concerned about the impact on local services of so many people moving into the area.

When completed, Curborough could be home to as many as 20,000 people and would increase the population of Lichfield District by a fifth.

The council has already identified locations for the 8,000 new homes it is required to plan for over the next 20 years under the Regional Spatial Strategy, and the land at Fradley was declared unsuitable for large-scale new build.

The Sunday Times, 13 April 2008

Ministers have seen the future and it is Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. The land of the concrete cow and the perpetual roundabout has apparently achieved greater biodiversity than the green fields it was built on. According to Caroline Flint, the housing minister, anybody worried about having one of the government's new eco-towns built on their bit of this green and pleasant land should go on a pilgrimage to Milton Keynes. Even a large new town like this, it seems, can be environmentally friendly if designed in the right way. So why should anybody worry about a modest-sized eco-town?

Ms Flint, one of this government's feistier ministers, has a point. The architects and planners of Milton Keynes were much mocked but had a vision in the 1960s that was ahead of its time. Green spaces were built in to the plan, not all of them carefully manicured parks. Wildlife was encouraged. The town's extensive network of cycleways does allow its residents to travel around in a safe and environmentally friendly way. The roads are designed to minimise queueing, even in rush-hour periods, reducing carbon emissions. It has some 20m trees, the equivalent of a small forest.

The Sunday Times, 13 April 2008

THE minister for "eco-towns" has conjured up an improbable argument to counter her critics: concrete is good for the countryside.

Caroline Flint, faced with mounting objections to government plans for 10 eco-towns on greenfield sites, said this weekend that turning fields into housing estates could improve the "green environment" and biodiversity.

She cites the 1960s-built "new town" of Milton Keynes, which is famous for its concrete cows and roundabouts, as evidence of how development is good for nature.

"Given that Milton Keynes was built on agricultural land, I'm sure there were people at the time who said, 'This is terrible; we're losing this green environment'," she said. "What MK has shown is that you can actually enhance the green environment".

Western Daily Press, 12 April 2008

That is the view of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in response to the recent announcement of the Government's plans for eco-town developments.

Among the short-listed zero carbon projects proposed, only one is in the South West, at St Austell in Cornwall.

However, a smaller project at Hanham Hall in Bristol, pictured right, is to become England's first eco-village.

This will provide some 200 homes built to the Government's so-called eco-standard, defined by Level Six of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Debbie Walsh, head of public policy and communications RICS West, said: "Of course, we all want to see new homes meeting high environmental standards.

"However, the recent announcement regarding the proposed eco-towns is causing some debate. The development of brand new towns runs the risk of creating isolated pockets of housing that are not effectively linked into existing communities.

Leicester Mercury, 12 April 2008

I am following with interest all the information and opinions regarding the proposed eco-town.

I read both the negative and positive opinions with equal interest - however, I am struggling to comprehend how naive some people appear.

Yes, I do have a personal interest as it will be in my "back yard".

However, I will not apologise for enjoying falling asleep to the peaceful sound of lambs and the odd owl at night without having to close any curtains.

Neither will I apologise for working hard at a low-salaried job I love.

I am struggling to buy our modest three-bedroom semi with my long-suffering husband of 24 years and have gone without a lavish lifestyle to bring up our two beautiful children, with often both of us doing two jobs just to make ends meet.

But I have always been thankful for leading such a blessed life.

I find it incredible that by putting the word "eco" before "town", all the rules change and people fall for it. I feel the decision has already been made and was made sometime ago behind closed doors.

Leicester Mercury, 12 April 2008

Harborough District Council chief executive Sue Smith today said the Government has "rushed through" plans for 10 eco-towns planned across England.

She claims a lack of information from Westminster has been just as frustrating for her as it is for concerned residents living in the area.

In her first interview on Pennbury, which would be built between Leicester and Great Glen, Ms Smith said her authority had been unfairly criticised. Some members of protest group Campaign Against The Stoughton Co-op Eco Town (Cascet) have accused the council of working in secret with developers and needlessly withholding information from councillors.

This is a claim flatly denied by the authority, which said it had been silenced by confidentiality clauses.

Building Design, 11 April 2008

Housing practice PRP has revealed a major bid to win eco-town work following the government’s announcement that 15 sites have been shortlisted.

Hot on the heels of rival firm HTA’s announcement that it is working in a consortium to design, build and operate eco-towns with partners including Grosvenor Estates, Conran & Partners, Arup and Terry Farrell, PRP said it was taking a different approach by researching low-energy developments across Europe, including Sweden’s controversial Hammarby Sjöstad.

Last Thursday, housing minister Caroline Flint said a longlist of more than 50 proposed locations for eco-towns had been whittled down to 15, which will be reduced again to no more than 10, each of which will provide up to 15,400 zero-carbon homes, with an affordable element of at least 30%.

Oxford Mail, 11 April 2008

A bridge over the A34, based on the world-famous Ponte Vecchio in Florence, is set to be the centrepiece of a controversial Weston-on-the-Green eco-town.

Developers behind the massive estate - dubbed one of Brown's Town's' after it was revealed as one of 15 eco-town sites shortlisted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown - last night said the High Street would "float over" the busy trunk road, linking two halves of the town.

If the development gets the go-ahead, it would be bigger than Bicester and feature as many as 15,000 new, eco-friendly homes.

The Oxford Mail has managed to get hold of a 32-page brochure detailing the £190m plans, which were sent to the Government and Oxfordshire County Council

Lichfield Mercury, 10 April 2008

News that land between Fradley and Lichfield has been mooted as the site for one of the country's first eco-towns has created a storm of conjecture.

The area - part of the former Fradley airfield - is exactly the same site proposed for the new 5,000-home settlement Curborough, for which outline permission has now been sought.

But developers behind that scheme, the Curborough Consortium, had also lodged a bid to create an alternative eco-town on the site instead. That suggestion has now won a place on the Government's shortlist of 15 locations across the country, which will be examined further over the course of this year.

View Press Coverage from April 1-13