Meetings held over Selby eco-town

Willow Green is one of four proposed sites in the Selby district

Public meetings have been called to discuss plans to build a new eco-town in North Yorkshire.

Fourteen sites in the Leeds City Region (LCR) were originally shortlisted as possible locations for one of the first new towns in England in 40 years.

Those have now been whittled down to four possible sites in Selby, including Willow Green near Eggborough.

A meeting will be held at Kellington Village Hall on Tuesday evening and at Eggborough Village Hall on Thursday.

The new environmentally-friendly towns - low energy, carbon-neutral developments built from recycled materials - will be the first new towns since the 1960s.

But the plans have proved controversial in some areas with campaigners saying the idea is a way to evade planning controls.

MP criticised

The four recommended sites in Selby are Gascoigne Wood, Burn Airfield, Church Fenton and Willow Green, between Eggborough and Kellington.

In March protesters took drums along to Selby town centre in a campaign to show their opposition for the carbon-neutral homes.

Eggborough councillor John McCartney said: "We held two packed public meetings back in January when we first found out about this proposal and now feel that we need to get the residents together again to explain the current position and also to allow them to ask questions."

Selby MP John Grogan, who has given his backing to the proposal, has been criticised for not attending the meetings.

Mr McCartney said: "It's an opportunity for him to come along and listen to residents but also to give his side. If he thinks the eco-town is such a good idea, it's for him to come and tell the residents why they should have an eco-town on their doorstep."

Mr Grogan said he did not underestimate how important the issue was and said he was unable to attend the meetings because of commitments at Parliament.

A spokesman for the LCR board said further investigation was taking place into the suitability of the four Selby locations for an eco-town.

It said a public board meeting would consider the study's recommendations on 12 June.