Council leaders have called on the Government to reconsider proposed eco town developments where there is strong local authority opposition.
The call was made after independent legal advice revealed the Government’s approach to eco towns could be subject to judicial review.
John Steel QC concluded that the plans remained ‘unfair, illogical and unreasonable’, susceptible to judicial review and with a strong likelihood of being declared unlawful.
He said his opinion, which he first formed last year, had been strengthened by the draft PPS and other official statements, which put it ‘beyond doubt’ that the Government’s clear intention was to promote eco towns over other forms of development which would meet housing need, such as town expansion – ‘even if such housing would meet the criteria set for eco towns to an equal or even greater degree’.
Cllr Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: ‘This expert legal advice supports our arguments that the approach ministers are adopting is wrong.’
She said it was not the concept of eco towns which other local authorities objected to – it was the way the Government was going about deciding where they would be built.
‘Eco town schemes should be led locally, and not imposed on people by central government,’ she added. ‘Now leading lawyers have confirmed that the approach to eco towns is open to legal challenge, it is time for ministers to reconsider the developments where there is strong local authority opposition.’
The Government should focus on backing those eco town proposals which had local support – such as East Hampshire and Norfolk - with the necessary funding for infrastructure, Eaton said.
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