The government has announced proposals for a second wave of eco-towns. Housing minister John Healey said today that a further nine local authorities were considering plans to develop new communities to eco-town standards. This could bring the number of new eco-settlements - “sustainable” developments of at least 5,000 homes - to more than 13 after four locations were given the green light in July.
The new schemes include reviving eco-town proposals at Shoreham Harbour in West Sussex and Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, where the department for communities said there was “an opportunity to redesign elements of existing projects to meet even higher sustainability standards”.
Five authorities and partnerships, covering ten locations in Taunton , Yeovil, Leeds, Lincoln and Coventry are using eco-town planning rules to decide whether an eco-town is “feasible and deliverable”. And councils in Cornwall and the Sheffield City Region are using the concept to carry out a broader survey of potential sites.
Healey said the expressions of interest would be backed with up to £10m to help develop the schemes. He said: “The further nine areas are looking at proposals to design and develop to the tough new eco-town standards. "This signals real and radical momentum to change and to re-think how we design our towns and homes for the future.
"In July, I encouraged councils to be at the forefront of Britain 's green revolution and use government backing to investigate eco-town potential for mainstream developments." Healy added that the announcement put government back on course to encourage the development of up to ten eco-towns by 2020.
The first wave of sites, in Hampshire, Norfolk , Cornwall and Oxfordshire, are currently developing masterplans for local planning approval. Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire was the first to publish its draft masterplan for public consultation last month.
