Monday, July 13, 2009
First published : PlanningResource
The government is expected to announce later this week that it will go ahead with its controversial eco-towns project.
Housing minister John Healey will announce that three or four sites in the south and south west will get the go ahead.
The frontrunner are North Bicester, Cherwell District Council, Rackheath, Greater Norwich, China Clay Community, St Austell, Cornwall, and Whitehill-Bordon, East Hampshire.
All have local authority support and should therefore be easier to pass through the planning system.
Healey is also expected to announce that the construction timetable has slipped – the homes will be underway by 2016 rather than completed as originally planned – and the location of six or seven more eco-towns that will form phase two of the project.
The plans have been beset by problems since a shortlist of 15 was announced 14 months ago, including local opposition to a number of the proposed schemes, developers pulling out and a lack of finance.