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Brown announces more eco-towns

Prime minister Gordon Brown has announced that the Government's programme of  eco-towns will be doubled from five to ten as a result of greater than expected interest from local authorities and developers

Communities and Local Government has confirmed that so far there have been more than 30 expressions of interest for specific schemes.

Planning minister Yvette Copper has indicated she is hoping there will be one such development in every English region.

Brown's announcement came in his speech to the Labour Party conference. He said his administration would for the first time in 50 years "show the imagination to build new towns – eco-towns with low and zero carbon homes".

He told delegates to the Bournemouth conference : "Because of the response we have received we are announcing that instead of just five new eco-towns, we will now aim for 10 eco-towns, building thousands of new homes in every region of the country."

In a related development the Town and Country Planning Association has stressed the need for more green spaces and medium density housing to cope with climate change.

The call for more innovative use of space within and around buildings, as well as more generous tree cover, comes in an association paper on 'Eco-towns and the next 60 years of planning'.

The TCPA is providing practical advice to the Government on the criteria for eco-towns.

Download the TCPA 'Eco-towns and the next 60 years of planning' paper (PDF, 804KB)

 

Roger Milne

27 September 2007

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