Twelve Experts Sign Up for Eco-Towns Challenge

Twelve experts from the worlds of design, the environment, transport and sustainability have signed up to join the Eco-towns Challenge and play a key role in shaping the future of the biggest new towns programme in the UK for forty years.

The panel of leading figures announced recently by Housing Minister Caroline Flint will provide expert advice and support to developers whose proposed locations were announced in last week's shortlist of fifteen potential sites. They will also play an important role in challenging the developers to meet the highest standards possible for sustainability and design in their final proposals.

The twelve members of the Eco-towns Challenge panel are:
* John Walker (Chair) - Former Chief Executive, British Urban Regeneration Association. Expert in delivery of large mixed use development
* Dr Liz Goodwin - Chief Executive, Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP). Expert in use of natural resources and recycling
* Stephen Hale - Director, Green Alliance. Environment expert
* Sir Peter Hall - President, Town and Country Planning Association. Expert in urban issues, housing and planning
* Wayne Hemingway - Founder, Red or Dead. Expert in design and social issues
* Stephen Joseph - Executive Director, Campaign for Better Transport. Transport expert
* Nick Mabey - Chief Executive, E3G. Expert in energy issues and economic development
* Kris Murrin - TV presenter, expert in sustainable transport and children's issues
* Sunand Prasad - Royal Institute of British Architects President-Elect. Expert in design and architecture
* Liz Reason - Director, Reasons to Be Cheerful consultancy. Expert in innovative approaches to energy issues and climate change
* Sue Riddlestone - Director, BioRegional Development Group. Expert in sustainability and sustainable development
* Joanna Yarrow - TV presenter, green-lifestyle specialist and founder of sustainability company Beyond Green

Housing Minister Caroline Flint said:

'The high calibre of those who have signed up is testament to both the excitement generated by eco-towns and the opportunity that this presents to shape the way we live, not just in eco-towns but across the whole country.

'We need more homes in this country and we need greener homes, and eco-towns present an opportunity we cannot afford to miss to combine both. I would like to thank these members of the Eco-town Challenge for agreeing to play such a tough but vital role in the development of eco-towns.'

Up to ten eco-towns will be built by 2020 and Caroline Flint announced a shortlist of fifteen potential locations last week for consultation to give the public their say. Eco-towns will be zero-carbon sustainable developments of between 5,000 and 20,000 homes, which help address the twin challenges of a major shortfall in housing and tackling climate change by cutting the carbon emissions of housing. Proposals will have to demonstrate they meet tough criteria on providing affordable housing, sustainable development including leading edge green technologies, delivering key infrastructure such as good public transport, schools and health facilities, and safeguarding local wildlife. No new homes will be built on Green Belt land and at least 30% of the total new houses will be affordable housing, delivering tens of thousands more homes for those on lower incomes.

The panel's role will be to maximise the potential for eco-town development in shortlisted locations by both encouraging bidders to develop and improve their vision for eco-town development and injecting new thinking on how eco-towns could best be delivered in each of the short-listed locations.

They will address issues such as using resources and the site's natural assets and opportunities efficiently, ensuring house designs are sensitive to local surroundings and create homes people will want to live in, creating a vibrant and healthy community for people of all ages to live in, and encouraging more journeys on foot, bicycle and public transport.

The Eco-town Challenge panel will publish recommendations to each bidder on how they could improve their vision for eco-towns development.