By Chris Ames
Is there any good news on eco-towns? As the government delays another announcement, a "coalition" of progressive lobby groups has stepped into the breach and come out in favour of Gordon Brown's grand plan. It doesn't look as if anyone is listening.
The government has been losing the propaganda war on eco-towns and now the whole policy is in danger from a judicial review. Having delayed the decision on which bids will go ahead, the government was still promising two key policy documents "in September". But it’s the last day of the month and a government spokesman has told me they won’t be published today, or even this week.
Yesterday's launch of the coalition has received virtually no press coverage. Perhaps it's because none of the big-hitting environmental groups are backing it. When Shelter's chief executive Adam Sampson says "we must not let the voices of those opposing the planned eco-towns drown out those of people in housing need," he's got a point, but eco-towns are probably more about building desperately needed new homes than saving the planet.
Not that eco-towns will solve the country's housing shortage. If all ten once promised by Brown provide 10,000 new homes each, that will only be 100,000 out of the three million the government once promised to build by 2020.
The Town and Country Planning Association is a vocal supporter of eco-towns. Its chief executive, Gideon Amos, says: "the truth is that the standards already set for eco-towns far outstrip those for any other development." Unfortunately, that isn't strictly true. The environmental credentials of Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, which the government says is not good enough to be an eco-town, are arguably just as strong.
When you look at the comments of other "supporters", it looks more like a coalition of the reluctant. At best it's a case of damning with faint praise while some comments look more sceptical than supportive:
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said:
"Eco-towns have the potential to make a significant contribution to meeting our nation's dire housing need, but they can only work if they are built to the very highest space and environmental standards."
While Paul Cann of Help the Aged unwittingly questions the whole concept:
"We believe eco-town principles need to be incorporated into all new community developments to make them work for older people."
Indeed. The government struggles to explain why entirely new towns are needed to showcase sustainable ways of living, rather than applying these principles to new homes within existing settlements. It could be years before people are impressed enough by eco-towns to follow their example.
I'll leave it to Andy Goldring of the Permaculture Association to state the best case for eco-towns: "New housing will be built whether we like it or not. Eco-towns offer the possibility that new housing will be sustainable, affordable and integrated into the landscape."
That's it. Let's make the new housing that we need as good as possible, whether in new settlements or existing ones. No-one is buying the hype.
Chris Ames, a freelance writer and investigative journalist, is editor of iraqdossier.com
building a town, however eco is not eco AT ALL!!!
Posted by: Jamie | Tuesday, 30 September 2008 at 07:53 PM
it would be nice if the proponents of 'eco towns' could be honest and just say they want to concrete over the countryside to build these new towns. Calling them 'eco' is dishonest and is fooling nobody. By the way Shelter have been given money by the govt to peddle their propaganda.
Posted by: Jez | Tuesday, 30 September 2008 at 09:13 PM
Nobody knows how long and how deep this recession will be but it seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Mortgages are increasingly difficult to obtain. Anyone building homes now has money to burn since it could be many years before the market picks up enough for them to be purchased. In a falling market you are likely to find your costs exceed the selling price.
Posted by: Derek Emery | Wednesday, 01 October 2008 at 08:09 AM
It'd be nice to see them built to the same standard regarding transport as the Dutch have been using for the last 30 years. However, that's not currently the plan. This is how it ought to be done:
http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2008/09/eco-town.html
Posted by: David Hembrow | Wednesday, 01 October 2008 at 09:50 AM
Instead of building brand new 'eco-towns' why doesn't the government put more money into making EXISTNG towns all over the country more eco-friendly. This plan just seems to be a huge waste of money and is not what most people want - again an example of this goverment not listening to the people. Another thing is that the government will come up against a whole host opposition groups including National Trust,CPRE, and the many different local envronment groups that exit all over the country. The plan is not only ill thought out but would be waste of money and deeply irresponsible in the current ecnomic climate.
Posted by: Rob T | Friday, 03 October 2008 at 10:17 AM