First detailed guidance for eco-towns published

Eco-towns should be designed so that homes will be within four hundred metres of  public transport "nodes" and within 800m of local shops and services, according to detailed guidance published by the Town and Country Planning Association in collaboration with the Government.

Also highlighted by the TCPA advice is the need for car-free areas, 15mph speed limits, generous provision of public open space and allotments and a call that new homes should be fitted with rainwater harvesting.

The association has suggested that eco-towns which want to be "exemplars" in terms of transport should aim that no more than 25 per cent of all journeys should be by private car.

These recommendations are set out in a series of eco-town worksheets just published which cover issues surrounding transport, water cycle management and community.

A number of the principles echo best practice in new development planning in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.

TCPA chief executive Gideon Amos said : "Eco-towns, because they are new settlements, present opportunities to create a different kind of town from scratch, meeting the highest standards in terms of sustainable development and minimising carbon footprints, social justice and inclusive communities."

Other work sheets will be published shortly on green infrastructure, housing and inclusive design, waste and recycling, energy and "green collar" jobs.

In a related development the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has voiced reservations about some aspects of the master plan for the Northstowe settlement in Cambridgeshire which is expected to be a prototype eco-town.

The master plan has been subject to a design review by CABE which is critical of the uniformity of the residential blocks, the highway layout and the lack of planning for a district heating system using a combined heat and power plant.

Download TCPA Eco-town Transport Worksheet  (PDF)

Download TCPA Eco-town Community Worksheet (PDF)

Download TCPA Eco-town Water Cycle Management Worksheet (PDF)

Roger Milne

27 March 2008