Ben Kochan examines the call for eco-towns
New models for sustainable settlements are set to be piloted through the Government’s eco towns initiative which was launched as part of its Housing Green Paper. The Government has invited local authorities and other partnerships to come forward with proposals – with five expected to be approved later this year.
Details of the eco towns initiative were unveiled at a summit of local authority representatives organized by the DCLG, late l
ast month. Housing minister Iain Wright told delegates, “Our vision for ecotowns is that they will be exemplar green developments and meet the highest standards of sustainability, including low and zero carbon technologies and quality public transport systems.”
He launched a prospectus providing clear criteria which the government will apply when designating ecotowns. They are expected to be small new towns with between 5,000 and 10,000 homes, which
are well connected to nearby existing
urban centres.
The prospectus suggests that the whole town should be designed around sustainability principles – business and services as well as homes – to achieve zero-carbon development. The objective is that each town should be an exemplar in at least one area of environmental sustainability.
Eco-town energy strategies
Renewable energy systems will be expected to supply all the different uses across the towns. The Town & Country Planning Association, which is working with the DCLG on this initiative, is proposing that eco towns should develop energy strategies. The strategies “should aim to minimize energy consumption throughout the year, supply energy efficiently and promote the use of renewable energy across the development and beyond, as well as in individual buildings,” according to a preliminary paper it published on issues affecting the implementation of ecotowns.
It points out however that the viability of sustainable supply systems depends
on a critical mass of development and
the early development may not be zero carbon until the renewal energy sources
are fully established.
The need for car travel should be minimized through area wide travel plans, says the DCLG’s prospectus. “An area-wide travel plan should be provided for each eco-town scheme, with local targets, setting out how it intends to achieve a significantly higher proportion of journeys on foot, by cycle and by public transport than comparable sized settlements.” Traffic control measures could be used such as systems giving priority to high occupancy vehicles.
Social and economic sustainability issues are also important. The size of the town needs to be large enough to support a secondary school and up to half of the new homes should be affordable. Social development programmes should be considered that welcome new residents and promote social integration and social cohesion. In terms of employment provision, the DCLG suggests that an economic strategy is developed which highlights how the eco town will relate economically to nearby settlements. The prospectus also suggests that projects
should support homeworking through
live work units or in local resource centres, with IT networks.
The benefits from being designated as an eco town are as yet unclear. According to Iain Wright, the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review will set out more detail on funding allocations. At the moment it is clear that they will be able to bid for funds from the DCLG’s £300m Community Infrastructure Fund, alongside the Growth Points and Growth Areas.
In addition, David Lock, the chairman of the TCPA, who spoke at the DCLG’s summit suggested that “the Government will aim to provide a smooth path for approvals, some financial contribution to up-front expenditure on comprehensive and contextual planning and infrastructure, and a commitment to steer all publicly funded programmes in the area to support the delivery of the scheme.”
It is envisaged that the towns will be built on brownfield sites, owned by public agencies. The TCPA however says that the agencies will have to be flexible about the land price. David Lock argued that the ecotowns need to be developed on a different economic basis than ordinary commercial developments. “The transfer of public land at aggressive commercial valuations will handicap the development of sustainable communities.”
To manage development, the prospectus says that an agency should be proposed to help develop the town, provide support for people moving to the new community, for businesses and to co-ordinate delivery of services and manage facilities. The prospectus floats the possibility that
new agencies could be established on
the lines of the new town corporations, which developed Milton Keynes and other new towns.
Less energy and car use
The prospectus cites several models for the new ecotowns. These include the new development planned at Northstowe near Cambridge which is expected to comprise about 9,500 homes on the former RAF Oakington barracks and airfield. The scheme includes a secondary school, a business district that would provide 5,000 jobs and a district shopping centre. It aims to cut energy and water consumption by about 50% through the use of renewables such as microgeneration, photovoltaic panels and solar water heating.
Another example is Vauban, a suburb of Freiburg in south Germany where a new district of 5,000 homes has been developed with a strong focus on alternatives to car
use. Nearly 50% of Vauban’s households
are ‘car free’ thanks to promotion of car sharing and strong public transport links with a tram and train line into the development. At least 100 buildings produce more energy than they need which is recycled into other areas.