Eco-towns target doubled by PM

The prime minister has announced that he is to double the number of 'eco-towns' planned for the UK as the government takes steps to help house more first-time buyers as well as build sustainable developments.

Gordon Brown first made the pledge to build five eco-towns prior to becoming prime minister earlier this year, but this target is to be increased to ten in light of higher-than-expected interest from councils and the construction industry, Mr Brown told the Labour party conference yesterday.

The developments will be comprised of as many as 100,000 carbon neutral or low-carbon homes, built on brownfield sites across the country.

Mr Brown's announcement was welcomed by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), which also called on councils to do more to free up sites for development.

"The prime minister is absolutely right to make social and affordable housing in sustainable communities a priority and we strongly support the housing provision target of three million new homes by 2020," commented TCPA chief executive Gideon Amos.

"Local authorities have a real opportunity to bring forward housing schemes through their plans and we encourage planning authorities to release more sites," Mr Amos added.


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