Eco-town proposal rejected for now

Cambridge Evening News 17th July 2009

ELSENHAM will not become home to one of the Government's new eco-towns - but the site could be considered in the future.

It means there will not be an eco- town in this area. However, Rackheath in Norfolk, the only site to get top marks from the Government for sustainability, has been selected as one of the four to be built across the country.

Housing minister John Healey has announced Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire, St Austell (China Clay) in Cornwall and North West Bicester in Oxfordshire were also being taken forward as new towns which would have homes powered by renewable energy and be within 10 minutes' walk of frequent public transport and everyday services.

However North-East Elsenham could still be considered by the Government, along with a site near Doncaster, and could tap into £5 million of second wave funding.

The Fairfield Partnership, developers behind the Elsenham scheme, welcomed the announcement.

Steve Biart, director of strategic land, said: "We are pleased that proposals for Elsenham may still be considered by the Government as part of its second wave of the eco-town programme. We will need to look closely at the timescales involved with this second wave of development, and we remain fully committed to delivering sustainable development at Elsenham either as part of the eco-town process or as part of Uttlesford's Core Strategy."

However, residents have called for the plans to be ditched altogether.

Lillian Adams, of High Street, Elsenham, said: "Now that the Government has agreed with residents of Elsenham and Henham that the land north-east of Elsenham is not appropriate for a major housing development, perhaps the Uttlesford Tory administration could finally back down and admit that their plan for 3,000 houses on a greenfield site is as stupid as all the locals told them when it was first cobbled together."

Originally North-East Elsenham in Essex and Hanley Grange, near Hinxton, were on a Government shortlist of 15 possible eco-towns announced more than a year ago.

But Tesco, which was behind Hanley Grange, withdrew the proposals after protests, although it is on a list of potential new developments which could be built in the region up to 2031.There were also calls for Northstowe to be turned into an eco-town but this did not happen.

Read the full article in the Cambridge Evening News here .