Eco-town media links - May 2008
The latest local and national press links to articles and letters about the eco-town proposals - updated 31 May 2008
Why Gordon Brown and green don’t mix
Building Design 30 May 2008
Gordon Brown’s plan to roll out eco-towns across England looked good — on paper at least — when first announced last summer. Ten towns, with up to 20,000 homes each, would be built to the highest environmental standards, tackling Britain’s acute housing shortage and the global battle against climate change head on.
Government may announce more than 10 eco-towns
Building 30 May 2008
Government officials are discussing the possibility of announcing more than 10 eco-towns amid fears that not all of the projected schemes will make it through the planning process.
Peer: Eco-towns are a mistake; In brief
London Lite & Evening Standard 29 May 2008
THE Government's "eco- town" plans were branded a mistake by architect Lord Rogers today.
Eco-town programme heads for the courts
The Government's eco-town in initiative is facing a legal challenge now objectors to one of the proposals from the 15 preliminary shortlisted schemes have announced plans to seek a judicial review of the consultation process.
Eco-town 'will cause chaos on roads'
Evesham Journal 29 May 2008
THE government will inflict traffic chaos on the Vale and the Cotswolds if it proceeds with its proposal to build its so-called eco town' in Warwickshire, protestors have claimed.
Three residents of Warwickshire's Long Marston, where the government proposes to construct the town, have conducted an informal survey to assess the impact it would have on traffic.
Legal challenge launched in eco town row
Stratford Observer 29 May 2008
LEGAL action against the government's whole handling of its eco town vision has been launched by the local campaign battling Middle Quinton.
BARD, standing for Better, Accessible, Responsible Development, launched a judicial review against the government's policy on Thursday (May 22).
Lord Rogers: Eco-town plans big mistake
Daily Telegraph 29 May 2008
Gordon Brown's eco-town plans have been described as one of the Government's biggest mistakes by the Labour peer and award-winning architect Lord Rogers of Riverside.
Eco homes: 75 per hectare but £100 fuel bills
Stratford Herald 29 May 2008
THE eco-town at Long Marston will have housing densities more commonly associated with inner-city developments rather than genteel rural towns, the campaign against Middle Quinton alleged this week.
Letter: Survey reveals likely traffic impact of eco-town
Stratford Herald 29 May 2008
Sir: On Tuesday 19th May three of us carried out an informal traffic survey on Trinity Mead housing estate in Stratford. There are two entry/exits on the estate and we monitored both during the ‘rush hours’ from 7am to 9.15am and again from 3.55pm to 6.10pm.
In the morning 925 vehicles left or entered this relatively small estate and in the afternoon there were 1,011 vehicle movements. This amounted to nearly 2,000 vehicles within just the five-hour period monitored, and a significant number during the remaining 19 hours of the day. There are approximately 800 houses in the Trinity Mead estate, and so mathematically, if there are 6,000 houses in the proposed new town we should reasonably expect them to generate well in excess of 15,000 vehicles per day. These vehicles will use the two roads bordering the proposed new town, in addition to the traffic already on those roads.
It does not take much imagination to envisage what will happen when 15,000 vehicles per day are added to the existing traffic on the winding lane from Long Marston to Mickleton and the B4632, and thence onto the country lanes of South Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds.
The airfield adjoining the proposed new town hosts two major events during the year attracting some 10,000-plus vehicles per day and this produces grid lock in and around Stratford.
These informal traffic figures give a projection for half as many vehicles again, compared with the airfield events, and complete and utter gridlock is likely to occur practically every day of the year, not just on the odd weekend when the Bulldog Bash or Global Gathering take place.
Any suggestions that the residents of the new town will not need cars and will be happy to rely upon public transport instead, are not worthy of serious consideration and come straight from Lala-land.
T N Taylor,
Long Marston.
Letter: Eco-town not the answer to affordable housing
Stratford Herald 29 May 2008
Sir: I am writing in response to the letter in last week’s issue entitled ‘Frustrated by Nimby culture’. I support the sentiment that we need more affordable housing in this area, but I also feel that the proposed ecotown is not the way to solve this issue. As another young person I feel that we need a choice in where we live and the opportunity to live near family and friends. This new town will provide enough affordable housing for Warwickshire and Coventry.
The fact that all the required housing will be in the same place will deny many young people the option of living in the place of their choice.
So let’s scrap the eco-town and see some more affordable housing in Stratford and the surrounding villages.
Anna Lomax,
Stratford Road, Honeybourne.
MP slams claims over eco-towns
Birmingham Mail, 27 May 2008
A Midland MP has criticised Government claims that the area needs thousands of new homes as "completely misleading".
Recently, Housing Minister Caroline Flint, making the case for the controversial eco-towns, said two potential Midland sites had 6,000 families waiting for affordable housing.
But Tory Stratford MP John Maples, whose constituency takes in one of the proposed sites, Long Marston, said the minister's figures were completely wrong.
AGENDA: Why we simply do not need this eco town near Stratford
Birmingham Post, 27 May 2008
Stratford-upon-Avon Conservative MP John Maples disputes the figures used by the Goverment to justify plans to build a new eco-town within his Warwickshire constituency. Here he puts the case against the new development.
Government figures all wrong for eco-town, says Stratford MP
Birmingham Post, May 26 2008
A Warwickshire MP has described Government claims that the area needs thousands of new homes as "completely misleading".
In The Birmingham Post last week housing minister Caroline Flint, making the case for the controversial ‘eco-towns’, said the two potential Midland sites had 6,000 families waiting for affordable housing.
Labour's Flint is still stonewalling 'eco-town' fury
Jimmy Young, The Express on Sunday, 25 May 2008
Last week , I received a letter from an eminently level-headed, thoroughly sensible, but now extremely angry friend. The reason for his anger, and that of a growing number of people across the country, is Labour's shortlist of 15 towns from which it proposes to create 10 so-called "eco-towns" – the vast majority of them spread across the south of England.
Long Marston eco town faces legal challenge
The Observer, 25 May 2008
The government is facing the prospect of a legal challenge against its controversial plans for building 10 eco towns across England.
Campaigners fighting a proposal for a 6,000-home town at Long Marston, Warwickshire, have instructed a law firm to take the first step towards challenging the consultation process. They argue that residents and councils lack vital information on the impact a town would have on the environment or on local services, and that not enough is known about the strategy behind the developments.
Letter: Eco-towns in the making
The Sunday Times, 25 May 2008
Eco-towns in the making: Claims that eco-towns will not go through the proper planning process are wrong (Whitehall to force through eco-towns, News, last week). Communities will play a key role in the decision-making process for eco-towns and there will be intensive consultation locally, with only the very best proposals going forward. No decisions have been made and, if bidders do progress further, they will be subject to the local planning process, which includes full public scrutiny. The Town and County Planning Association is backing the plans to deliver thousands more affordable houses for young families and first-time buyers in housing need.
Caroline Flint, Housing Minister
Plans go in for first eco-town - and there's no green to be seen
The Sunday Telegraph, 25 May 2008
The first plans for one of Gordon Brown's flagship eco-town sites have been submitted - but without the environmentally friendly features the Government has promised.
Planning documents seen by The Sunday Telegraph reveal that the proposed 5,000-home development near Lichfield, Staffordshire, does not include some special measures required to reduce its impact on the environment.
Commentary: Labour scheme may become its poll-tax crunch
Ben Fogle, The Sunday Telegraph, 25 May 2008
Gordon Brown may well have filled in his own P45 thanks to his plans for eco-towns across England.
More than 50,000 people have signed petitions against the proposals and I am now adding my name to the list.
'Money is behind siting of eco-towns'
The Daily Telegraph, 24 May 2008
The Government stands to make hundreds of millions of pounds from the sale of Ministry of Defence land for Gordon Brown's eco-towns, it was claimed yesterday.
Opposition MPs are concerned that a desire to maximise revenue from the sale of military land is behind the choice of locations for 200,000 eco-homes. A substantial proportion of the land earmarked for the developments belongs to the MoD.
Campaigners caution Flint over eco-town cars
Regeneration & Renewal, 23 May 2008
Six transport and environmental lobby groups have called on the Government to make sure that its eco-towns scheme does not result increased car dependency for future residents.
In a joint letter to housing minister Caroline Flint, the group - which includes the Campaign for Better Transport, Friends of the Earth and the Campaign to Protect Rural England - describe official eco-towns guidance, published in March, as 'one of the best bits of guidance ever to emerge from a British government'.
Councillors vote to oppose eco-town
Regeneration & Renewal, 23 May 2008
Councillors have voted to oppose plans to build a 6,000-home eco-town near Stratford-upon-Avon.
A full meeting of Stratford-on-Avon District Council last week unanimously decided to write to housing minister Caroline Flint asking for the proposed development at Long Marston, Warwickshire, to be removed from the Government's shortlist of 15 eco-towns.
Planning, 23 May 2008
The government's shortlisted eco-town applications could create a swathe of car-dependent commuter towns, a group of environmental organisations has warned.
The group, which includes the Campaign for Better Transport, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Sustrans and Friends of the Earth, said most of the proposed sites are remote from large conurbations. None would allow for easy integration into public transport networks, it claimed.
Midlands seminar weighs up eco-town proposals
Planning, 23 May 2008
A seminar organised by YPwestmids gave the opportunity for more than 100 young planners, surveyors and lawyers to discuss the merits of the government's eco-town proposals.
Institute seeks clarification on eco-town policy concerns
Planning, 23 May 2008
Key questions remain on the viability of eco-towns to help government housing targets, claims Rynd Smith.
The eco-towns programme is becoming more real. With the government's prospectus setting out a shortlist of 15 proposals, the significant challenges that the initiative raises are ever more apparent.
Planning, 23 May 2008
The backlash against eco-towns stepped up another gear with several papers now viewing the initiative as a cause celebre for protesting communities.
Simmons to give panel added beef
Building Design, 23 May 2008
Scrutiny of the designs for the government’s planned eco-towns received a boost this week after it emerged that Cabe chief executive Richard Simmons has been appointed to a panel overseeing developers’ proposals.
Campaigners prepare first legal challenge to ecotown plans
guardian.co.uk, 22 May 2008
Campaigners are preparing the first legal challenge to the government's ecotown proposals, alleging ministers have failed to consult properly in drawing up a shortlist of 15 schemes from which up to 10 will be selected.
Bard, a group opposing a 6,000-home development at Middle Quinton, six miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, has hired lawyers to make the a case for judicial review of the way in which the policy has emerged.
Rogers: eco towns not sustainable
Building, 22 May, 2008
Labour peer says eco-town plans 'one of the biggest mistakes government could make'
Lord Rogers has launched a broadside against eco towns, calling them "one of the biggest mistakes government could make."
Rogers attacks eco-towns as a big mistake
Building Design, 22 May 2008
Richard Rogers has launched an extraordinary criticism of the government’s eco-towns project calling it one of the government’s “biggest mistakes”.
Planned eco-town at Long Marston to be challenged
Sustainable Solutions, 22 May 2008
Campaign accuses government of not carrying out a thorough consultation
BARD, the Better Accessible and Responsible Development Campaign, has instructed law firm SJ Berwin LLP to represent it in challenging the government's shortlisting of an ex-MOD site and surrounding private land at Long Marston.
Council support for eco-town protestors
Evesham Journal, 22 May 2008
Eco-town protestors made a special presentation to Evesham Town Council this week to drum up support and to keep councillors informed about the Long Marston bid.
Clive Moy, head of community liaison for the Better Accessible Responsible Development (BARD) Campaign, and Martin Gittins, chairman of Mickleton Parish Council, spoke strongly of their intention to keep fighting until the bitter end and of how they felt the campaign was going.
Legal battle looms over development of eco towns
Surveyor, 22 May 2008
Opponents threaten to take the Government to court citing unsuitability of proposed locations.
The Government is facing the prospect of a legal challenge against its controversial process of deciding of the location for 10 eco towns in England.
Financial Times, 22 May 2008
The new ecotowns will face their first legal challenge today when a judicial review case is launched against a new town at Long Marston, near Stratford-upon-Avon. A local campaign will attack the process by which the government has chosen 15 shortlisted sites to become 10 new towns.
Provision must be made for businesses in eco towns
The Daily Telegraph, 22 May 2008
SIR - Your coverage of the Government's proposed eco towns has understandably focused on planning issues and residents' objections (report, May 19).
However, as legal advisers to retailers and other businesses who might be expected to consider locating in these towns, we are not convinced the current proposals alone will deliver "greener'' commercial developments.
Stratford Herald, 22 May 2008
The Long Marston eco-town controversy took a dramatic new twist last night (Wednesday) when campaigners against the proposal launched a legal process aimed at challenging the government’s whole handling of the issue.
In a letter announcing that it is seeking grounds for a judicial review—which was due to land on ministers’ desks today (Thursday)— Bard, the group set up to fight the scheme, claims that the government has breached a United Nations treaty on public participation in environmental decision-making.
Eco-towns encourage suburban sprawl
The Daily Telegraph, 20 May 2008
Gordon Brown's plan to create a series of eco-towns risks widening social inequalities and hastening suburban sprawl in the countryside, a report published today concludes.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) warns that the proposals could also weaken the social fabric of existing towns and calls instead for villages to become more densely populated in order to foster community spirit.
The Guardian, 20 May 2008
Ecotowns risk increasing social division by diverting money and political will from improving existing towns and cities, according to an independent adviser to the prime minister.
Up to 10 new towns promised in England might also increase commuting unless enough jobs are created within them, said Rebecca Willis, an environmental researcher and vice-chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, a watchdog which reports to No 10.
Mirror, 20 May 2008
Countryside campaigners want plans for eco-towns scrapped-insisting they will only make our housing problems worse.
A report by the Campaign to Protect Rural England - which had originally backed the plans for eco-friendly out-of-town developments - says the cash should be pumped back into rundown inner-city areas instead.
Read more...
Campaigners claim eco-towns will disperse communities
Press Association National Newswire, 20 May 2008
The Government's plans for a series of eco-towns is helping to disperse communities and weakening their social fabric, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) claimed today.
AGENDA: A unique opportunity to wipe out housing shortage
Birmingham Post, 20 May 2008
They've sparked local opposition and protests but proposed eco-towns in Warwickshire and Staffordshire will only go ahead if they come up to scratch, says Housing Minister Caroline Flint.
Birmingham Mail, 19 May 2008
Protesters fighting plans for a eco-town believe the scheme for 6,000 homes could be in breach of planning guidelines.
Lawyers for campaigners in Long Marston, Warwickshire, have submitted a Freedom of Information request for details about eco-town plans, saying villagers have been left in the dark by the Government and developers.
Eco-town campaign comes to Evesham
Evesham Journal, 19 May 2008
Campaigners against the establishement of an eco-town at Long Marston were due to address members of Evesham Town Council tonight to urge them to join the protest.
Read more...
Eco-towns to 'override planning process'
The Daily Telegraph, 19 May 2008
Ministers are planning to override the planning process to get the controversial eco-towns built, it is claimed.
Prof David Lock, one of the Government's own expert planning advisers, believes the Government will "cut out a whole lot of processes'' to benefit eco-towns, which are set to swallow up swathes of rural Britain.
Leading Article: How to safeguard our natural heritage
The Independent, 19 May 2008
As any walker will know, it is often necessary to climb to higher ground to get a true impression of the lie of the land. The same applies in the field of conservation. We can chart the decline or resurgence of a single species of insect, or wildflower, in exhaustive detail, but it is not until we examine such trends in relation to each other that the bigger picture comes into focus. Natural England has sought the higher ground with its first comprehensive survey of plant and wildlife in England. And the snapshot it has taken of the English countryside should alarm us all.
Eco-town protesters claim plan breaks official rules
Birmingham Post, 19 May 2008
Lawyers for the Long Marston anti ecotown protesters say the Government's plans for 6,000 new homes could be breaking planning guidelines.
They have submitted a Freedom of Information request for details about eco-town plans, saying villagers have been left in the dark by the Government and developers.
Whitehall to force through eco-towns
The Sunday Times, 18 May 2008
Ministers are plotting to "crash the planning process" for their new eco towns, restricting the opportunity for residents to object, according to the government's own expert adviser.
Professor David Lock claims the communities department wants to fast-track the towns, intended to provide environmentally friendly housing. This is despite the government's public declaration that normal procedures will be followed.
Eco-towns are just vandalism dressed up in a trendy green coat
Janet Street-Porter, Independent On Sunday, 18 May 2008
Who wants new communities when thousands of existing houses stand empty? Even builders agree - government plans are potty.
Another week, another Government target missed - that's the downside of setting optimistic objectives in the hope of seducing voters. So far this year the number of new houses being built in England is running at the lowest level since Labour came to power - just over 32,000 homes are under construction. The pledge to build 240,000 new homes a year by 2016 stands about as much chance of being achieved as that other New Labour dream - the eradication of child poverty.
Morning Star Online, 18 May 2008
Consultation Watch: Andrew Fisher explains why plans to build 10 to 15 new eco-towns has come under attack.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is consulting on its proposals for the first wave of "eco-towns," but local campaigns against them have already formed at every proposed site.
'Brigadier' Henman wages war against eco-town planners
The Daily Telegraph, 17 May 2008
INTERVIEW: Tim's father tells Elizabeth Grice that he will not stand by and see his rural community destroyed
It's fair to say Tony Henman is not a heart-on-the-sleeve man. For years, his impassive chiselled features in the centre court box at Wimbledon reflected all the emotion of an Easter Island monolith rather than the agony and the ecstasy of being the father of "Tiger Tim'', Britain's most dogged, talented and disappointed tennis playing legend. What was this mild-mannered man feeling as his son failed heroically to reach a final?
Green groups call on ministers to scrap 'car-based eco-towns'
Local Transport Today, 16 May 2008
The Government's eco-towns were facing an embarrassing setback this week with news that an alliance of environmental groups is to write to ministers saying they will not support the shortlisted locations because their remoteness from existing settlements means it will prove impossible to reduce car dependency.
Environmental campaign groups want reassurances over eco-towns shortlist
24dash.com, 16 May 2008
Six of the UK's leading environmental campaign groups have written to Housing Minister Caroline Flint expressing their concern over the shortlist of locations for the Government's eco-towns programme.
The Campaign for Better Transport, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Car-free UK, CTC, Friends of the Earth and Sustrans are presenting a united front on the issue and are calling for reassurances on five key points.
Stratford-on-Avon District Council resists proposals
Planning, 16 May 2008
Stratford-on-Avon District Council has unanimously decided to resist the proposed eco-town at Long Marston, south Warwickshire.
All parties backed a motion urging housing minister Caroline Flint to remove the Middle Quinton scheme from the shortlist. The council said the town would create sustainability issues out of proportion with its size and conflict with the local plan and regional spatial strategy allocations.
Council cautious on eco-prototype bid
Planning, 16 May 2008
The proposed Northstowe development is 'not yet a prototype eco-town', according to the planning authority assessing the outline plan.
South Cambridgeshire District Council is processing the Gallagher Estates and English Partnerships proposal for 9,500 homes at a former RAF site north-west of Cambridge.
'Model eco-town' plans criticised
Regeneration & Renewal, 16 May 2008
Plans for a development billed as the forerunner of the Government's eco-town programme have been criticised by the scheme's planning authority.
Developer Gallagher Estates and national regeneration quango English Partnerships (EP) want to build 9,500 homes on a former RAF site at Northstowe to the north-west of Cambridge.
Eco-town promoters press ahead despite council’s opposition
Stratford Herald, 15 May 2008
Promoters of the controversial bid to build a 6,000-home eco-town at Long Marston are pressing on with their scheme undaunted by a unanimous rejection of the project by Stratford district councillors at a special meeting on Monday.
Twelve different appraisals of the 600-acre site are currently being conducted by specialist consultants to provide as much information as possible about the viability of the proposal—being put forward by St Modwen and The Bird Group—before the official public consultation period closes at the end of next month.
With all those votes for, who would dare be against?
Stratford Herald, 15 May 2008
It was described by Cllr Mike Brain as the biggest single issue Stratford District Council had ever had to debate. With 300 or more protesters outside Elizabeth House and a packed public gallery—not to mention an exceptionally high level of media interest—it was difficult to argue with that. But how would the council handle it? That was the question. . .
Protesters significantly raise the ‘ante’
Stratford Herald, 15 April 2008
The raucous anti eco-town protest outside district council headquarters this week, which forced police to close Church Street for more than 30 minutes, marked a significant ‘upping of the ante’ in the campaign against Middle Quinton.
There were an estimated 300 protesters outside Elizabeth House on Monday, most of whom wore yellow T-shirts and brandished placards, flags and badges emblazoned with ‘Stop the Eco-Town.’
Eco-towns 'are veneer to plans for 3m homes'
The Daily Telegraph, 14 May 2008
The eco-towns planned by Gordon Brown are a "green veneer'' to mask the impact of a programme to build three million new homes, conservationists said yesterday.
Building the 10 communities in the heart of England would be environmentally unfriendly, urbanise the countryside and increase traffic congestion, campaigners said.
Eco-town planning 'will continue'
BBC News, 13 May 2008
A developer has pledged to continue with its plans to build an eco-town in south Warwickshire despite a council's objection to the scheme.
Stratford-on-Avon District Council members voted to reject government plans for Middle Quinton, which is among sites on a eco-town shortlist.
Councillors reject plans for eco-town
Birmingham Mail, 13 May 2008
Local politicians have unanimously rejected Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plans for a new 6,000-home town to be built by a sleepy Midland village.
Councillors at Stratford District Council voted unanimously against the Government's eco-town project, planned for a disused Ministry of Defence site by the village of Long Marston, saying it would be unsustainable and would ruin the surroundings of the attractive rural area.
Unanimous 'No' to eco-town plan
Cotswold Journal and Evesham Journal, 13 May 2008
Stratford District councillors have voted unanimously not to support the eco-town proposal at Long Marston and will write to the government to ask for it to be removed from the shortlist.
The vote was taken at a full council meeting on Monday afternoon at council headquarters on Church Street, in Stratford, and followed a lively morning of demonstrations just outside the council offices.
Stratford deals blow to ecotown plans
The Daily Telegraph, 13 May 2008
Plans for new "ecotowns'' across the country suffered a setback yesterday when councillors in the home of Shakespeare unanimously rejected an earmarked site.
Councillors reject plans for 6,000-home eco-town
Birmingham Post, 13 May 2008
Local politicians have unanimously rejected Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plans for a new 6,000-home town to be built by a sleepy Warwickshire village.
Councillors at Stratford District Council voted unanimously against the Government's 'eco-town' project, planned for a disused Ministry of Defence site by the village of Long Marston, saying it would be unsustainable and would ruin the surroundings of the attractive rural area.
Council rejects eco-town proposal
BBC News, 12 May 2008
Government plans for a proposed eco-town in south Warwickshire will not be backed by the local council.
Stratford-on-Avon District Council is to write to the government asking for the development, at Middle Quinton, to be removed from the shortlist.
Eco-town debate to be screened on the internet
Coventry Evening Telegraph, 12 May 2008
A debate about controversial plans to build an eco-town in Warwickshire is being screened live on the internet today.
Stratford District Council has agreed to broadcast a full council meeting at which proposals to build 6,000 new homes in Middle Quinton, near Long Marston, will be discussed. Those interested can watch the proceedings by logging on to www.stratford.gov.uk at 2pm today. A recorded version will also be available to play back.
Eco-town builder is Labour donor
The Daily Telegraph, 12 May 2008
One of Labour's biggest donors is behind a project to build a 15,000-home eco-town, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
The Co-operative Group is bidding to build an eco-town called Pennbury on land it owns between Stoughton and Great Glen in Leicester. However, objectors are circulating literature pointing out that Labour received pounds 500,000 from the group in 2005/06 and has a pounds 13.5 million overdraft with the Co-operative Bank, an offshoot of the group.
Brown's government overcrowding England
Daily Telegraph, 10 May 2008
If some cataclysm should engulf our civilisation, future archaeologists, sifting through the remains of the 21st century, might assume that the prefix "eco" meant "hated and feared". Higher taxes are made more palatable by being called "eco-taxes". Inefficient and expensive cars are presented as "eco- cars". And, paradoxically, the dumping of whole new towns in the middle of the English countryside is all right as long as they are labelled "eco-towns".
Middle England rises against plans for 200,000 eco-homes
The Daily Telegraph, 10 May 2008
The battle to stop Gordon Brown's plans to build 200,000 eco-homes is becoming one of the biggest grassroots protests of modern times.
Tens of thousands of people, including scores of councils, aim to force the Prime Minister to halt the plans.
Hemingway vs Pollock - ready to rumble
Building, 9 May 2008
The shortlist for England's 10 eco-towns is out but now the real contest begins. With the winners due to be announced by the end of the year we brought eco-town supporter Wayne Hemingway and eco-town protester Myles Pollock together to slug it out. Emily Wright referees. Portraits by Julian Anderson.
The gloves are off. The 15 shortlisted eco-town sites have been announced and bidders have until the end of June to make it into the final 10.
Government warned some new towns are 'not financially viable'
Building, 9 May 2008
The government is in danger of trying to get "new towns on the cheap" by trying to push the funding for infrastructure onto developers, according to the new chief executive of the British Urban Regeneration Association.
Michael Ward said the government had yet to recognise the impact the credit crunch was likely to have on the financing of growth areas and eco-towns.
He said: "There's a danger that we're trying to get new towns on the cheap. It's the same with eco-towns. The government has to be honest about the fact that some schemes are not viable in the current market given the environmental standards and infrastructure contributions that it wants."
Green belt 'being concreted over'
Daily Telegraph, 7 May 2008
Green belt land equal to 1,100 football pitches is being concreted over every year under Labour, research published today suggests.
The equivalent of a small city has been built on protected rural land since 1997, a report by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England claims.
Gordon Brown's plans for new "eco-towns'' also pose a threat to rural areas and could lead to major building work on green belt land, it has emerged.
Research by the CPRE suggests ministers have no respect for the legal safeguards on green belt land.
Daily Mail, 7 May 2008
Nearly 30,000 acres of Green Belt land has been lost since Labour came to power, according to a report released yesterday.
It claimed that the protected green space around towns has been used for building more than 45,000 homes - an area equivalent to a city the size of Bath.
The report said more Green Belt areas around the country could be under threat of development as the Government strives to build three million homes by 2020.
Nettles joins Warwickshire eco-town protesters
Birmingham Mail, 6 May 2008
Eco-towns: Development angers TV actor neighbour
Actor John Nettles today accused the Prime Minister of "mugging the nation's heritage" over plans to build an eco-town near his Warwickshire country home.
The 64-year-old lives near Stratford-upon-Avon in a picturesque rural setting similar to the fictional backdrop for his detective series Midsomer Murders.
John Nettles: Eco-towns will ruin our heritage
The Daily Telegraph, 6 May 2006
John Nettles, the actor, has accused Gordon Brown of damaging England's heritage over plans for an eco-town near his country home.
Nettles, 64, best known as Sgt Jim Bergerac in the long-running detective series, lives near one of the 15 potential sites for an eco-town network. He said that rural communities would be "forever spoilt" if plans for a settlement for up to 20,000 people went ahead at Middle Quinton, near Stratford-upon-Avon.
John Nettles joins Warwickshire eco-town protesters
Birmingham Post, 5 May 2008
TV detective actor John Nettles has accused the Prime Minister of mugging the nation’s heritage over plans to build an eco-town near his Warwickshire country home.
Residents step up eco-town battle
York Press, 6 May 2006
Campaigners are stepping up the fight against plans for a new 15,000-home eco-town near Selby - claiming it will be full of "carbon-creating commuters."
Over the bank holiday, protesters against the Willow Green eco-town went door-to-door to get their message across and delivered leaflets to all households in the affected communities of Eggborough, Kellington and Beal.
Bedfordshire on Sunday, 4 May 2006
Some say plans for an eco-town between Bedford and Milton Keynes will set the benchmark for sustainable development.
Others are not so sure. What noone knows is what the locals think.
Janet Street-Porter: An army of choosy shoppers could see off greedy retailers
Independent on Sunday, 4 May 2008
The election results of the past week confirm that anything tagged with the word local is guaranteed to get a powerful response. Voters turned out in their thousands to register their discontent with the Government, not about international issues such as Afghanistan or Iraq, global warming or the candidates for the US presidency, but over how issues far closer to home are being handled.
'Eco-town is in danger of becoming an eco-ghetto'
Leicester Mercury, 4 May 2008
The Bishop of Leicester has said the Government risks ignoring the public by pushing through a controversial eco-town.
The Right Reverend Tim Stevens said if Pennbury was built, it could create an "eco-ghetto rather than an eco-town".
'Cranford' brings memories for Judi Dench
Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2008
In making the Victorian-era miniseries "Cranford," actress Judi Dench was reminded of her youth in wartime England. Though separated by nearly a century, the two time periods shared a common spirit.
"You did look after your neighbors," said the Oscar-winning Dench, who plays Miss Matty on the PBS program that premieres Sunday. "They certainly looked after their neighbors in 'Cranford' . . . there is something touching about knowing what people are like and knowing the situation that's going on."
Focus on ... Stratford-Upon-Avon
The Times: Bricks and Mortar, 2 May 2008
HOW IT RATES
The pretty Warwickshire town of Stratford- upon-Avon is full of historic buildings and timber-framed houses built from the trees of the surrounding Forest of Arden. The Avon was once a main trade route but the river is mainly used for punting, canoeing or rowing these days. Most famous for being the birthplace of the Bard, it is one of the top tourist destinations in the UK.
DOWNSIDE
The town can get overrun by tourists. Protesters claim that Middle Quinton, the proposed eco-town near Stratford, would put too much pressure on local services and that more housing is not needed.
'Eco-town will fail to be green'
Gloucestershire Echo, 1 May 2008
Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown says a proposed new eco-town will be anything but green.
The Better Accessible Responsible Development Campaign group organised two public meetings in Honeybourne and Mickleton to discuss the proposed new eco-town at Middle Quinton, near Chipping Campden.
The meetings, attended by Mr Clifton-Brown and Peter Luff, MP for Mid Worcestershire, drew crowds of more than 150 people to each venue, with residents almost universally opposed to the proposals.
Afterwards, Mr Clifton- Brown, a chartered surveyor by profession, said: "Given its rural location and lack of suitable infrastructure, in all probability there will be increased car usage meaning the Middle Quinton eco-town will be anything but green."
New bid 'muddies' eco town row
Stratford Observer, 1 May 2008
A plan touted as a possible alternative to the Middle Quinton eco town could do more harm than good.
That’s the verdict from those battling the development of the former MoD base in Long Marston, shortlisted as one of the government’s new climate-conscious communities.
Eco town objection is ‘realism’
Stratford Observer, 1 May 2008
Stratford and its surround will be ‘irreversibly spoilt’ if the government forces the development of an eco town at Long Marston.
That’s the message from John Nettles, the latest high profile name to join the BARD campaign battling Middle Quinton.
He joins Dame Judi Dench in calling for the plan to be dropped. The star of Midsomer Murders and Bergerac, who has lived locally for the past 16 years, was speaking as Stratford celebrated Shakespeare’s birthday.
16/05/08
Press clippings from the UK national and regional press during May 2008
RELATED ARTICLES
- Eco-town media links
- Letters to the Stratford Herald
- Eco-town media links - June 2008
- Dame Judi angry at eco-town plan in her 'beloved Stratford'
- Eco-town media links - June 2008
- Stratford deals blow to ecotown plans
- Eco-town media links - 14-30 April 2008
- Channel 4 News at Noon segment on eco-towns
- Eco-town radio coverage clips
- Broadcast coverage of eco-town controversy
- Sky News video feature on eco-towns
