HRH points the way

Poundbury, the only new town built in the UK since the 1960s, was ridiculed when plans for it were first unveiled. But now many builders regard it as a visionary development.  

The Prince recently gained planning permission to build a ‘green’ town in Sherford, Plymouth, with homes for 12,000 people. Cars and non-eco-friendly uPVC windows will be banned from the town, while half of its energy needs will be met by renewable sources as part of the Prince’s drive to build the greenest community in Britain.

Speaking at the British Property Federation’s annual meeting earlier this week, his private secretary, Sir Michael Peat, had the following advice for the Government on selling its eco-towns idea to a mistrusting public.

“Ministers should come and look at Poundbury. The trouble is that no one knows what eco-towns are yet

– the Government won’t decide this until the autumn. It was built before the modern focus on energy took shape but now we’re using micro-generation which offers energy savings of between 15 and 20 per cent for users every year.”

Kate Faulkner, author of several Which? guides on property, said: “Poundbury has been beautifully developed and has real character. It is a breath of fresh air, and shows we don’t have to build boxes. In the Government’s proposed towns, the eco features have been very poorly explained, which gives people no confidence in the project.”

At the conference, housing minister Caroline Flint praised new British sustainable building but steered clear of discussing the  Government’s pet eco-towns – which   are attracting massive opposition across the UK. More than 2,000 people are signing up to petitions opposing them every day.

Last weekend, protestors in West Sussex were joined by television presenter Ben Fogle and the Duchess of Norfolk, to oppose plans to build 5,000 homes on greenfield land.

Similarly, plans to build on a site in Ms Flint’s own constituency in Rossington, which show that 9,000 homes would be built on greenbelt land, have met with local opposition.

The Government’s failure to consult with councils on eco-towns has infuriated the public, who feel planning issues should be determined locally and not at Whitehall.

But resistance to the projects is more than anti-development Nimbyism, said Dr Oliver Hartwich, chief economist at Policy Exchange think tank.

“What people resent is the feeling of not being consulted. The eco-towns seem like something on which they have no say, from which they won’t benefit and for which they may even have to pay as it impacts on the infrastructure.

“Local authorities should make their own plans for their environment without being instructed by central government.”

This may confirm rumours that the Government will now only build five eco-towns – half the number

proposed by Gordon Brown. 

Ministers had planned to build five of the towns by 2016, and the rest by 2020. But growing opposition, and the current state of the property market, in which many developers have stopped building new homes, makes this look increasingly unlikely.

Ms Faulkner said: “These things are imposed on people and then sold to them, rather than developed to deliver what local people want.”

Government spokesman, Richard McCarthy, said: “Eco-towns are at the forefront of the new planning process. We are engaged in consultation and assessment in a test number of locations and sites.”