Ministers recognise shortcomings of ‘eco town’ shortlist

11 April 2008

The Government’s shortlisted contenders for a new generation of new towns are either located in inaccessible locations, or close to already-congested roads, it has been claimed.

Housing minister, Caroline Flint, launched a consultation on 15 proposed new ‘eco towns’ of 5,000-15,000 homes, which were shortlisted from 57 ideas suggested by developers and councils.

She claimed the sites, mainly in southern England and the Midlands, were sustainable because they would make significant use of brownfield land, such as former military bases and disused airfields.

The Department for Communities and Local Government’s consultation document, however, acknowledges the ‘challenges’ of accommodating the additional transport demand the eco towns would create. A 15,000-home new town using surplus public sector land at Pennbury on the outskirts of Leicester would be ‘distant’ from the rail network, and could add to ‘severe’ congestion on the A6, it says.

‘Major transport investment’ would be required for a 10,000-15,000-home new town at Weston Otmoor in Oxfordshire, given the fact that the nearby A34 was operating at capacity.

A 5,000-home new town at a former RAF base at Manby in Lincolnshire, meanwhile, would be ‘distant’ from both trunk road and rail networks. Ian Drummond, Leicestershire County Council’s assistant director for transportation, told Surveyor that his authority had already rejected the Pennbury site as unsuitable for major housing development.

‘The area is not well served by public transport, and the A6 is heavily congested without 15,000 new homes. With them, to get into Leicester, you are likely to need to walk... on top of the roofs of cars.’

A proposal by landowner the Co-operative Group for a new railway station was ‘untenable’, while a tram link to Leicester was likely to be ‘prohibitively expensive’.

Oxfordshire County Council leader, Cllr Keith Mitchell, said that while the developers behind the Weston eco town had mooted investment in heavy rail, light rail and park-and-ride schemes, ‘the figures simply do not stack up’.

The east-west rail link, connecting Milton Keynes and Oxford, alone would cost £200M, while necessary improvements to junction 9 of the M40 could cost £60-70M. It was unknown, said Drummond, whether there would be any additional central government funding, as well as developer contributions.

Local Government Association chairman, Sir Simon Milton, said: ‘It’s no use building environmentally-friendly houses if they’re in the middle of nowhere, and residents have to drive miles to buy a loaf of bread.’

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Ministers recognise shortcomings of ‘eco town’ shortlist

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