Developer urges Government to rethink Rushcliffe Eco-town strategy

Monday 21 July 2008

The developer behind proposals for a 6,000 home eco-town in Rushcliffe is urging the Government to think again over its rejection of the plan.

The Kingston plan was not named by the Department for Communities & Local Government when it revealed its initial shortlist of 15 projects in April, but DCLG did specify that Rushcliffe should be considered as a location for an eco-town and that the Borough Council should identify potential sites for it.

Rushcliffe Borough Council has declined to put any sites forward, but the site of RAF Newton, to the east of Nottingham, has been forward by Crown Estates, which owns some of the land there.

In its official response to the Government’s ‘Living A Greener Future’ eco-towns consultation paper, Banks Developments is calling on the Government to look again at the Kingston site.

David Gosling at Banks Developments says: “The Government’s eco-town initiative is a positive way of tackling the UK’s growing need for housing in an environmentally responsible way, but we feel that the Kingston scheme has been unfairly excluded from the search for appropriate locations in Rushcliffe.

“Given the limited availability of brownfield land in the area, the most important factor in choosing a location in Rushcliffe is its ability to attract investment and thus become economically sustainable, and the Kingston site fits this description for a number of reasons.

“There is currently no strategy for the provision of the additional housing that is required by the rising number of people working at East Midlands Airport and elsewhere across the area, and Kingston would provide a convenient, easy-to-reach option for these people.

“It would also be able to take advantage of a number of new transport infrastructure projects which are already going ahead, including the new inter-city station nearby, whereas RAF Newton would require the construction of substantial new transport networks.

“And whilst any Rushcliffe eco-town would require some Green Belt development, RAF Newton is in an important Green Belt gap, as identified by the Borough Council in work previously done on its Local Plan, whereas Kingston is on the outer edge, and partly outside it, and has a number of well-defined physical features separating it from existing settlements.”

David Gosling is now looking for DCLG to change its stance and revisit the advantages that the Kingston eco-town proposal offers.

He continues: “We still believe that the Kingston site represents an outstanding opportunity to create a high quality sustainable community – it is in a unique position at the heart of the Three Cities sub-region, and that is the only realistic option for a new town in the Rushcliffe area.

“If the Government is serious about achieving its stated ambition of securing ‘radical change’ and solving the UK’s growing housing and environment challenges, then it should be looking again at our Kingston proposal, and we hope that DCLG will soon recognise the potential benefits of doing so.”

Last updated: Monday 21 July 2008, 13:25 PM