Healey unveils second wave of eco-town sites

Michael Donnelly, PlanningResource, 1 December 2009

In July, Healey announced that four locations had made it through the selection process to become eco-towns and today he announced that a further nine local authorities are considering plans to develop new eco-town developments.

The potential second wave eco-town proposals are:

 - Schemes at Shoreham Harbour in West Sussex and Northstowe in Cambridgeshire,
 - Five authorities and partnerships, covering ten locations in Taunton (Monkton Heathfield and Corneytrowe), Yeovil, Leeds City Region (Aire Valley, York North West, North Kirklees and Bradford-Shipley canal corridor), Lincoln (Lincoln Area and Gainsborough) and Coventry.
 - Councils in Cornwall and the Sheffield City Region (Dearne Valley, South Yorkshire) want to use the eco-towns concept to carry out a broader survey of potential, test alternative options for development and then use the eco-town concept and standards to apply across their area.

Healey has also announced a new 'Eco Town Network' to be set up in conjunction with the Town and Country Planning Association, acting as an ‘eco workshop’ for councils to share ideas and has pledged to double the money from £5m to a total of £10m to support councils in developing their plans.

Healey, said: "I welcome the interest of these nine authorities. They have recognised that eco-towns in the future will not be exceptional and the standards we are setting now will spread like an eco-echo for all new development. We said we wanted to see up to ten eco-towns by 2020, so we will now work closely with these councils and communities to develop their bids and ensure that the public can have their say at every stage.

"We are leading the world with these developments which combine affordable housing with new green infrastructures and an exceptional quality of life."

The four sites announced in July are currently developing masterplans for local planning approval.


michael.donnelly@haymarket.com