Eco-towns must work with local communities, government says
Eco-town development programmes should include projects that enable existing communities to prepare for the growth in their area, the government proposed this week.
A consultation paper on how to allocate the £60m Growth Fund for eco-towns urges locations to consider projects that enhance community facilities already in place or those that allow benefits to be shared by new and existing communities.
The document also calls for the implications of growth on community infrastructure such as local schools and healthcare facilities to be considered, with details of how service providers are being engaged.
The allocation of the current round of funding would be based on the programmes of development that will be submitted later this year by each eco-town.
Backers of eco-towns will be asked to set out their housing plans to 2016, to demonstrate the robustness of the local delivery mechanisms and service provision and to show their ability to get ‘early wins’ on site in 2010/11.
The £60m start-up funding from the Growth Fund will be shared among the four locations selected for the first phase of the ecotown programme.
The locations in Cornwall, Hampshire, Norfolk and Oxfordshire will be allocated a total of £25m in 2010/2011, with a further £35m to come the following year.
This money will be used to support increased capacity in the local authority and to accelerate the infrastructure provision phase of the programme. It will also be used prepare the existing community for growth.
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