Zero carbon consultation opens opportunity to win public faith

Huw Morris, editor, Planning, 11 April 2008

Here is a copper-bottomed opportunity for the UK to launch a concerted drive to become a world leader on sustainable development. But how much will eco-towns mark a genuine break with some of the pitfalls that bedevil development?

Judging from much of the media coverage, the battle is already lost. Protest groups and petitions became a feature of the story well before the shortlist was even unveiled, a situation compounded by the cynical greenwash used by some early bidders. The only environmental feature of the latter was the recycling of schemes previously rejected by the planning system.

However altruistic, beneficial or pioneering a development may be, it will always provoke opposition in some quarters. With the resuscitation of nuclear power and the fiasco surrounding expansion at Heathrow, we are in an era where consultation can be seen as little more than a Machiavellian exercise in conning the public rather than engaging with it. At worst this has created fear, at best widespread cynicism. With this track record, who trusts anything that comes from the government?

Ministers have already got carried away with loose talk about zero carbon homes. Until renewable energy becomes a significant player in the UK generation market, new homes will still use electricity from fossil fuels and produce carbon emissions. And that is before dealing with whether carbon offsetting really works. But then low-carbon development does not have the same ring.

Some of the eco-town bids have a torrid time ahead. Organisations, agencies, politicians, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all need to be brought on board even before the public offers its opinion. As Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment chief executive Hank Dittmar says in this week's interview, a plausible case must be made for why quality of life will not be undermined. This might even herald a new era of trust. Or is that being too optimistic?