Eco-town research cash demand row

Nearby residents have said the new town will destroy countryside

A Leicestershire council has demanded £250,000 from a developer to cover the cost of studies into a new town scheme.

The county council said it had spent more than £500,000 examining issues surrounding the Pennbury project, planned for south of Leicester.

It has sent the bill for half the cost of a transport assessment to the developers, the Co-operative Group.

The Co-op said it had always been willing to pay reasonable costs but the bill was too large.

The county council said it would take "appropriate action" to recover the money.

Necessary details

In a statement, the Co-operative Group said: "Despite repeated requests over the last few months for the county to provide detailed justification for the costs, this information has not been forthcoming.

"In order to resolve this and provide us with the evidence to settle the county's claim, we will serve a request under the Freedom of Information Act on the county to provide the necessary details."

The local authority's cabinet has now decided not to co-operate with or provide any further funding for the project for the 15,000-home town, which would be built on a small airfield site near Stoughton village.

Council leader David Parsons said: "We've had to spend £500,000 of taxpayers' money showing that a scheme which has been proposed by the Co-op is unviable - that's what our consultants have said.

"It's also shown 98% opposition to the scheme. What more does a county council have to do? So I've pulled the plug. Enough is enough."

A final decision by the government about the eco-town has been delayed until later this year.