Eco-Towns Background Information
The Government’s Housing Green Paper (July 2007) included an Eco-towns prospectus inviting proposals for the creation of up to 10 new freestanding eco-towns. These would contain between 5,000 and 20,000 new homes that could contribute to the Government’s aspiration to enable 3 million new homes to be built across England by 2020.
Communities and Local Government (CLG) received 57 eco-town proposals. These were subject to a cross-departmental Government appraisal that has selected a shortlist of 15 locations for more detailed assessment.
The short-listed locations and further information on the next stages of the eco-towns process were announced in a CLG consultation paper
Eco-towns: Living a greener future published on 3 April 2008 that can be downloaded
here.
The current shortlist includes:
Pennbury (Stoughton): Led by the Co-operative Group and English Partnerships and focused on land to the south-east of Leicester (Harborough and Oadby & Wigston) with a target of 12,000 to 15,000 new homes.
Government Consultation Programme
Communities and Local Government (CLG) has stated that consultation will be carried out in four stages, these are:
Stage One: three month consultation during April to end of June 2008 on preliminary views on eco town benefits and shortlisted locations.
Stage Two: further consultation this summer on a Sustainability Appraisal, which provides a more detailed assessment of eco-town locations, and a draft Planning Policy Statement.
Stage Three: publication of a final list of locations with the potential to be an eco-town as part of the final Planning Policy Statement, later this year.
Stage Four: like any other proposed development, individual schemes will need to submit planning applications.
If you wish to comment on this consultation on the Eco-Town or any part of the consultation document Eco-Town - Living a greener future:
Or write to:
Eco-towns Team
Housing and Growth Programmes
Communities and Local Government
2/H9 Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU
The City Council's Cabinet considered
a report on the Government's Eco-Town process on 2nd June 2008. Before the Council makes a decision on the Pennbury eco-town the following 5 tests need to be satisfied.
Test 1 - Will the Coop's proposal help to address the housing shortage currently being experienced in the City and the general area
Test 2 - Can the Coop's proposal generate sufficient capacity for transport to cope with the extra Journey's Pennbury would create, without adding significant pressure to our road network that is already close to capacity at peak times.
Test 3 - Pennbury should be an exemplar scheme of the highest environmental standards, with an overall effect of carbon neutrality. Pennbury should also be used to reduce the carbon footprint of the general area including within the City.
Test 4 - Pennbury needs to complement the City's regeneration endeavours and significantly increase the number of of net jobs for City residents. This will require an undertaking from the public agencies, the Coop, other involved investors, developer and builders to work with the City in pursuit of its regeneration goals. EMDA, the Homes and Communities Agency, Department of Transport and Department of Communities and Local Government must renew their commitment to the regeneration of the City.
Test 5 - Pennbury has to provide the required social and community infrastructure to enable it to be sustainable and for that infrastructure including health provisions to be provided with regard to the City's sustainability.
If you wish to contact
Leicester City council regarding the Eco-Town, please use this
form. Please note that any comments you make to Leicester City Council could appear on our website, if you do not want your comments displayed please specify this in correspondence.
Comments made can be viewed
here.
Notes of the
Technical Working Group meetings can be found
here, all other relevant documents can be viewed below.
Other Relevant Eco-Town websites:
