Government upbeat on eco-town progress

Michael Donnelly, PlanningResource, 31 July 2008

In June a report from the Panel criticised the plans that had been submitted for the 15 shortlisted sites saying that less than ten should be given the go-ahead and of those only a handful would have proper green credentials.

But the government now says that since then significant progress has been made. Housing minister Caroline Flint said: "The progress made over the past few weeks demonstrates the willingness of the promoters to react to the expert advice they have been given. But there are no done deals and only the best quality schemes with very high sustainability standards will qualify for eco-town status."

John Walker, chairman of the Eco-town Challenge Panel, said: "Many of the proposals have shown significant and encouraging progress during those few weeks.

"In all cases, the Panel made suggestions about where it believes further progress is most needed, and has encouraged the direction in which much of the work is going. It is now for the proposers to consider whether and how to respond to these comments through the further development of their ideas."

The report is generally complimentary of the updated proposals but issues still remain, particularly around transport arrangments and carbon footprints.

The Panel was set up by the government to encourage bidders for eco-towns to raise the standard of their proposals, in order to maximise the potential for eco-town development in every location.

The full report will available here later this afternoon.