Press Release from FMB, thanks Jane:

Lord Rogers is absolutely right to describe eco town plans as ‘one of the biggest mistakes’ the Government could make, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs at the FMB says:

“Eco town plans are nothing short of a Government ‘greenwash’ to hide its outdated housing policy. The reality is that we already know how to create sustainable settlements as demonstrated by the BedZed affordable eco-homes development in south London which has been a shining example to the UK house building industry since 2002. The simple fact is that building brand new ‘eco-towns’ outside existing towns and cities is a really bad idea when there are 675,000 homes in England alone sitting empty and ripe for refitting with green technologies.:

Berry continued:

“Given that demand for housing is right across the UK it makes more sense for every village, town and city to have new housing rather than creating brand new settlements. How green are these new towns are going to be in transport terms? The sad truth is that any new eco-town can only be another car-based satellite suburb. Even with car clubs, cycle lanes and a top-notch bus service, these places are going to be packed out with new roads and, as we all know, new roads lead to more car use – and more carbon emissions.”