Housing minister dismisses claims that new green settlements will bypass planning laws

Housing minister Caroline Flint last night denied that 10 planned eco-towns would face legal challenges as they breach normal planning guidelines.

Speaking on BBC2's Newsnight last night Flint said legal advice to the Local Government Association was "spurious" and "unbelievable". "I can only think that they (the local government association) have misrepresented our case to their legal advisors," she said. Flint added that the government would have to adhere to standard planning laws for the proposed schemes.

I can only think that they (the local government association) have misrepresented our case to their legal advisors

Caroline Flint

Flint also revealed standards that developers hoping to develops the new towns would need to adhere to, which will be set out in fuller detail later today. She said that 40% of the land would need to be green space and that 50% of people in the towns would need to access public transport. "They will need to be zero carbon across the whole development, which will include the businesses and the facilities."

Responding to claims that the plans were under threat due to the dire state of the housing market Flint claimed that the scheme would not be built overnight and were truly challenging for developers. "The challenge is to have innovation and exemplars. I am not in the business of putting them in locations that cannot wear the badge of eco-towns, hence why some have dropped out."

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