It Takes a Village

News & Analysis
In the News Gristmill Blog Muckraker Podcast Features

Columns
Ask Umbra® Victual Reality Weekly Recipes The Bottom Line From A to Green The Grist List

Support nonprofit, independent environmental journalism.
Donate to Grist.

ADVERTISING POLICY

[Advanced]

Read more about: England | news | placemaking | urban planning | all of these topics

Tools: print | email | write to the editor | subscribe | RSS

Protests arise over British government's "eco-town" plans

Posted at 10:00 AM on 22 Feb 2008

The British government is preparing a shortlist of sites for high-density, carbon-neutral eco-towns, but is coming under consistent protest from villagers who don't want 'em nearby. Many residents living near the proposed sites have concerns that, eco or not, new development will take over agricultural land, increase traffic, and burden local infrastructure. Says Mark Sullivan of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, "[Eco-towns] will never be self-sustaining, effective communities if they are sited in the wrong places."

sources: The Guardian, BBC News, Evesham Journal, Oxford Mail, Leicester Mercury, Wakefield Express

ADVERTISING POLICY

< Previous | Next >

Comments: (4 comments)

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Another Joke

"Development" is just a euphemism for destruction of natural land. There's no such thing as good development unless it replaces already developed land. These proposed "eco-towns" are phony, because they will cause major ecological destruction if built on open space or natural land. Instead, already built towns should be rebuilt along this model.

by Wolverine at 2:19 PM on 22 Feb 2008

A green and pleasant land...

Great that Grist has pulled this story out. This eco-town thing is about to become a massive issue here in the U.K.: a total re-casting of a 'green and pleasant land' that has to happen. There will be a burden on rural infrastructure but urban infrastructure is already collapsing...mmmm.... :-?

by mrdavidbarrie at 3:48 AM on 23 Feb 2008

Retrofit

I agree Wolverine, better to green existing villages and cities with rooftop solar and wind, smart grid, geo heat exchange heating/cooling, renewable electric mass transit, and so forth.

Rather than build new eco-sprawl. Will they be luxury clown-dominiums that save 10% on energy with new improved insulation? Probably.

This ranks right up there with UK plans to go nuke-you-ler. Rather than building offshore wind. Schizoid energy policies racked back and forth by competing lobbies, that seems to be the US/UK norm.

How has the continent avoided this? Less corruption? They opposed the Iraq war too, while the UK's Blair government embraced it.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 7:09 AM on 23 Feb 2008

Different Electoral Systems

Amazingdrx,
Unlike the U.S. and U.K., the rest of western Europe has proportional representation. Because of this, small parties actually have representation in Parliament and have to be dealt with in order to get a majority to pass legislation. This is a much more democratic form of government and doesn't let two gangs masquerading as political parties (Dems & Repubs, Labor & Torries) get away with passing legislation that mainly benefits their funders. The end result is much better societies, though, unlike traditional indigenous societies, Europe is not what enviros should aspire to.

by Wolverine at 9:45 AM on 24 Feb 2008

The comments of Grist users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?