David Reeves

The Housing Minister Caroline Flint MP set out her vision; that eco-towns offer a unique opportunity to address the housing shortage, to tackle climate change and to trigger substantial economic growth. She made it clear that each of the 15 bids would be considered in detail and that there were no done deals.

Patrick Hall, the MP for Bedford and Kempston called for a strategic master plan to development, rather than the poor planning of the past where development was allowed on appeal without the necessary infrastructure. The example he gave were housing estates tacked on to towns and villages which put existing populations under considerable stress.

I agree with Patrick. Whilst my opponent has focused on the label of ‘eco-town’ and her ongoing squabble with the Minister, we do need to focus on good planning. But to do so, we need certainty and clarity. Patrick called for communities to be given precise information on the proposed number of new homes, and to let them know what is actually meant by the term eco. Only with this information can they work on the basis of that knowledge and discuss their future in a measured way, while being properly consulted.

The Minister made it clear that the second stage of the consultation which takes place over the summer would be a sustainability appraisal. This would be a detailed assessment of each of the locations, setting out the likely environmental, social and economic impact. A planning policy statement will produced shortly which will help to ensure that eco-towns are benchmarked against very high standards – providing tools to assess whether an application really is eco or green.

Nadine Dorries MP did speak briefly on the subject. Most of her time was used attacking the Housing Minister and Patrick Hall. She did however end on the following four points.

1)      Local people are unhappy

2)      We do not have an unemployment situation in Bedfordshire

3)      We do not have the infrastructure to support a new town

4)      The transportation is not only far from satisfactory, but entirely unsatisfactory to meet the needs of the proposal

The Housing Minister concluded the debate by saying that she had heard many reasons why we should not have eco-towns, but very few alternatives put forward that would allow housing needs to be met.

The full text of the one and half hour topical debate can be found by clicking here.