County makes eco-town shortlist

Willow Green is one of several proposed sites within the LCR

Sites in Yorkshire are among the shortlist of locations for the first new towns in England in 40 years.

The Leeds City Region (LCR), which incorporates 11 towns and cities in West, South and North Yorkshire, has made the list.

The South Yorkshire mining village of Rossington has also been chosen.

The government has shortlisted a total of 15 locations. The 10 sites for the "eco-towns" will be finalised in the next six months.

Ministers want five of them built by 2016, with the other half completed by 2020.

Town protests

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.

One of the proposed sites within the LCR is Willow Green, near Selby.

'ECO-TOWNS' SHORTLIST Bordon, Hampshire Coltishall, Norfolk Curborough, Staffordshire Elsenham, Essex Ford, West Sussex Hanley Grange, Cambridgeshire Imerys, nr St Austell, Cornwall Leeds city region, West Yorkshire Manby, Lincolnshire Marston Vale and New Marston, Bedfordshire Middle Quinton, Warwickshire Pennbury, Leicestershire Rossington, South Yorkshire Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire Weston Otmoor, Oxfordshire Source: Department of Communities and Local Government The plans: Site-by-site

Last month protestors took drums along to Selby town centre in a campaign to show their opposition for the carbon-neutral homes.

A spokesman for residents said the new town would be double the size of Selby and could take business away from the area and increase traffic and noise.

Councillor Robert Light, chairman of the LCR board, said a "robust" study would now be carried out to assess the preferred location of an eco-town in the region.

He said: "The study will enable the city region to fully consider the wider implications of an eco-town, including the impacts on our existing regeneration and renewal areas, as well on meeting our affordable housing and economic growth needs and ambitions."

John Harris, chairman of the Rossington Eco-town Partnership, said he was pleased the village had been shortlisted.

But he said: "It is important to understand that the eco-town proposals are currently at a very early stage.

"We are keen to emphasise that any development coming forward will be subject to planning procedures with frequent and wide ranging consultation on the development of design proposals long before planning applications are prepared and submitted."

The largest new town will provide between 15,000 and 20,000 new homes, with officials saying the towns should be "zero-carbon" developments and should be exemplary in one area of sustainability, such as energy production or waste disposal.

They also want 30% to 40% of each eco-town to be allocated as affordable housing.