/ 31 August 2009

UK gives green light to eco-towns

The British government gave the go-ahead for the construction of four eco-towns, offering 10 000 homes overall.

The British government gave the go-ahead for the construction of four eco-towns, offering 10 000 homes overall, which it hopes will showcase environmentally friendly living in the United Kingdom.

The settlements, three in the south of England and one in the east of the country to be built by 2016, will include the latest in energy efficiency measures, streets with charging points for electric cars and numerous cycle routes, as well as easy access to public transport.

Each site will be allocated a share of £60-million for their ‘green” infrastructure. The towns are designed to tackle Britain’s housing shortage while minimising damage to the environment — more than a quarter of the UK’s CO2 emissions come from energy use in houses.

But they have been criticised ever since Gordon Brown announced in 2007 his plan to build up to 100 000 homes in five green towns.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England wanted that plan scaled back to one or two showcase towns, saying effort should concentrate on refurbishing existing properties and redeveloping brownfield sites, as well as bringing 800 000 empty homes in England back into use.

The new eco-towns will still require planning permission and could face opposition from residents in rural areas.

The housing minister, John Healey, said: ‘I recognise that the proposals can raise strong opinions, but climate change threatens us all and with our commitment to the eco-towns we are taking steps to meet this challenge and help build more affordable housing.”

John Alker, of the UK Green Building Council, said: ‘The eco-towns brand has taken a battering, but if these developments go through the interrogation of a proper planning process, are linked to existing communities, have local support and are built to the very highest environmental standards, then it can only be a good thing.” The government wants up to 10 eco-towns by 2020. —