28 March 2008
Households living in new eco-towns will be subject to strict transport rules with no more than half permitted to own a car, the government confirmed this week.
Motorists will face 15mph speed limits on most roads, while families without vehicles will be invited to join car-sharing clubs. No home will be more than 400 metres from a bus stop or other public transport.
Ministers have accepted wide-ranging proposals on eco-towns drawn up by the Town and Country Planning Association. TCPA chief executive Gideon Amos said the towns, which will include up to 20,000 homes, presented an opportunity to build communities from scratch with a more cost-efficient infrastructure.
'Only eco-town proposals that have the potential to meet the highest standards demanded should be given the go-ahead,' he added.
The TCPA proposals, which also cover community development and water management, were announced at a London conference on March 25.
Housing minister Caroline Flint promised that the government was using a rigorous selection process to assess the 57 expressions of interest submitted last year.
'These developments will be exemplars for the rest of the world, not just the rest of the country,' she said.
The Department for Communities and Local Government was due to announce a short list of ten eco-towns last month, but faces opposition from local residents and landowners, who claim that many proposals are failed planning applications dressed up as eco-developments.
PFmar2008
