New eco-town advice published

The criteria for eco-towns should include a requirement that all new housing should meet the Building for Life Gold standard and involve emission reduction measures which would mean building at densities of between 50 and 100 homes per hectare, it has been proposed.

That was highlighted in a report from green development pioneers BioRegional and the Government's design adviser, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).

The report suggested that densities should be 50 to 100 dwellings per hectare in the town centre and between 50 to 65 dwellings per hectare along transport corridors.

The two organisations have also called for master plans for each eco-town to provide a land-use context for the whole settlement rather than individual buildings.

"The key issues of layout, density and scale should be directly related to passive design approaches (in terms of orientation, aspect and thermal mass) and issues of connectivity and community inclusion," said the report.

The report has made a strong case for making sure eco-towns provide green infrastructure, including ample tree cover and set a maximum of one car parking space per household.
 
Meanwhile, in a related development, a coalition of organisations including housing campaigners, green groups, trades unions, the Royal Institution of British Architects and the Town and Country Planning Association have put out a joint statement offering broad support for the eco-town concept and highlighting the key benefits the initiative could offer.

In a separate move the Conservative Party has appointed Drivas Jonas to draw up proposals for a policy on sustainable homes which could involve a Tory version of the Government's eco-town programme.

Speaking at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, shadow housing minister Grant Shapps voiced opposition to the Government’s eco-town programme but made it clear a new Conservative administration would not cancel proposals that had obtained planning permission and where developers had already begun to invest in facilities.

Read the CABE press release on 'What makes an eco-town' report.

Read the TCPA press release on coalition backing eco-towns.

Roger Milne

2 October 2008