Eco towns labelled "rural poll tax"

The government's plans for ten new eco-towns to be built in England have been likened to a "rural poll tax" by celebrity Janet Street-Porter, which she has said will unite people in protest against the plans.

Writing in the Independent, Ms Street-Porter said the notion of an eco-town was a "contradiction", stating that for all the green energy devices and insulation there would still be concrete and roads laid across previously green fields.

She suggested brownfield building and the renovation of existing properties was a better way forward.

While opposition to many of the eco-town plans is growing, housing minister Caroline Flint has faced accusations of cronyism over the shortlisting of one of the sites.

One of the directors of Rossington Hall Investments, the company behind the proposed Rossington eco town in Ms Flint's Don Valley constituency, is local labour councillor Malcolm Clark, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Mr Clark told the paper in response that the proposal had been launched before Ms Flint became housing minister and she would not be making the final decision on the ten sites which are chosen.

Those hoping to live in an eco-home may decide to self build theirs rather than wait and hope that any local eco town proposal may overcome opposition.


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