News Release

2nd April 2008

ECO TOWN ANNOUNCEMENT

Michael Fabricant, and other Members of Parliament, has received a letter today from Caroline Flint, Minister for Housing and Planning, (reproduced below) regarding the forthcoming announcement of 15 potential locations for eco towns. It is probable that Curborough will be one of them.

Michael says: "I oppose the location of a large eco town in Curborough which will, in effect, join Lichfield to Fradley in one continuous urban sprawl. The infrastructure for an eco town in Curborough is totally inadequate and will cause even greater congestion along the A38 and adjoining roads. We have neither the schools nor the hospitals to cope. Moreover it should not be for central government and regional bodies in Birmingham to override decisions made by our own local council. It should be up to local authorities with locally elected councillors who understand their areas to make these major decisions.

"I am uneasy about Government plans for 'consultation'. In the past this has simply been an exercise whereby the Government has steam rollered through their decisions.

"Ministers know my objection to the Curborough location for the eco-town and I will now be watching carefully to see if it is included in the list of 15 towns. I deplore the secrecy by which this whole issue has been handled. The Government has refused to list the locations of the 57 bids though we know Curborough to be one of them. And we still don't know precisely when the 15 locations will be announced."

The letter from Caroline Flint MP now follows:-

I shortly will be announcing the list of 15 potential locations for eco-towns , drawn from the 57 bids we received last October, following our invitation for expressions of interest. I wanted to set out to all Honourable Members and to local authorities who have bids in, or close to their constituencies and areas, what the process will be moving forward between now and the Autumn. I would also like to be absolutely clear with you that in the next stage, we will be inviting full public consultation and there will be every opportunity to take part in the process.

As I have stressed before, only locations with the potential to meet our challenging criteria will be considered by the Government to be eco-towns.

In order to reach the stage we are at now, we have carried out an initial sift across Government and its agencies. This has given us a preliminary indication of the sustainability and infrastructure aspects of these locations in relation to the criteria set out in the Eco-towns Prospectus, including their approach to transport and the environment. In this very early stage, the Government also took soundings from regional partners in the Assemblies and Development Agencies, as well as the very important views of the local authorities affected by the sites. All local authorities have been informed that their views are actively sought on these schemes.

On the day of announcement, I will publish the 15 schemes shortlisted for full public consultation, as well as the full list of bids received. I will explain why I think these are the best schemes to go forward for consultation, as well as setting out fully our vision and some very stretching requirements that the eco-towns will need to fulfil. I will also set out in detail the process for taking eco-towns through the planning system.

I understand there have been concerns on this point in particular, and I have answered this point previously on the floor of the House, but let me reassure you again that eco-towns will be subject to a planning application and full local consultation. Each application must be decided on its merits, and the local planning authority will need to take into account all the impacts of the proposals.

I will also announce that I am commissioning more detailed Sustainability Appraisal work that will include evaluation of the locations being considered. This will provide greater detail on environmental sustainability and other issues and test them against reasonable alternatives.

Our objective is to get up to 10 eco-town schemes underway with the potential to deliver up to 100,000 homes. As set out in the Eco-towns Prospectus, our vision is that eco-towns must be new settlements, places with a separate and distinct identity but have good links to surrounding towns and cities in terms of jobs, transport and services. Indeed eco-towns should contribute to those existing communities.

Any new settlement must be of sufficient size to ensure a good level of services, jobs and community facilities so as to create attractive and sustainable places to live. There should be provision within the town of a good range of facilities, including a secondary school, shopping, business space and leisure. All of these issues will need to be tested in the consultation process and in further work on the schemes themselves.

My strong preference is to work closely with local authorities in taking forward the eco-town schemes and I will be keen to form partnerships with individual authorities in the relevant areas in which we can give some additional support to reflect the additional pressures on authorities in terms of planning and capacity as these schemes are considered in more depth.

If the bid in your area is one of the ones on the shortlist I will be keen to work with you over the coming months in realising a more sustainable green future, with eco-towns leading the way in this exciting new challenge.