We live in selfish times. Protesters are rising up to shoot down British government proposals to build 10 eco-towns from a shortlist of 15 across England. The new towns will provide homes – which are much needed - for around 100,000 families. Moreover the houses built will be among the most energy and water efficient in the UK, reducing CO2 output and savings on energy bills. But the NIMBY’s (Not In My BackYard) don’t see it that way. A figurehead for the anti-movement is Professor David Lock, chair of the Town and Country Planning Association. He claims that following a meeting he attended in mid-May Housing Minister Caroline Flint wants to “cut a whole lot of processes [and] is trying to cut short the planning process... which can take seven to 10 years.” Ms Flint denies the claim. She said: “I have made absolutely clear all eco-town bids will be subject to the proper local planning process.”
Flint, however, wants five of the 10 eco-towns built by 2016 – less than eight years hence. If ‘normal’ planning takes a minimum of seven years and let’s add a conservative 12-month build period, clearly to achieve Flint’s timescale something will have to give – and soon. So where does that leave us? Of course, it’s essential that the proper planning processes at local and regional level is adhered to and in doing so that people close to the surrounding proposed eco-towns are able to have their say. But we can’t afford to have a five-year ‘talking shop’ followed by a decade-long planning consultation. Climate change won’t wait for our debates – witness the natural disaster in Burma that an increasing consensus of scientists is attributing to global warming. Must we wait until an event of such magnitude hits the UK before we act and put aside our immediate self-interests?
