High Court bid to block eco-towns

Plans for eco-towns have sparked several protests

The High Court is expected to rule later on a legal challenge to the government's flagship eco-towns scheme.

Last week, campaigners from Warwickshire and Oxfordshire applied for a judicial review of the scheme arguing it was legally flawed.

They urged the court to stop the scheme until there had been a "proper and full consultation process".

Twelve sites in England are on the shortlist to be eco-towns - the first new English towns since the 1960s.

The government plans to build up to 10 low-energy, carbon-neutral developments from recycled materials over the next decade, as part of government plans to build three million new homes by 2020.

But they have proved controversial in some areas where campaigners say the idea is a way to evade planning controls.

Claim defended

The legal challenge has brought by the Better Accessible Responsible Development (Bard) campaign, which is opposed to 6,000 new homes being built near Long Marston, Warwickshire.

It is backed by the Weston Front Protest Group, which opposes plans for 15,000 new homes at the Weston Otmoor site, near Bicester in Oxfordshire.

Eco-towns, expected to sustain between 5,000 and 20,000 homes, will be required to go through the same planning processes as other major developments, says the government.

They would be expected to achieve "zero carbon status" across all buildings and 40% of the area would be expected to be green space.

The government says it has "acted properly throughout this process and will defend this claim vigorously".

Last November, it emerged only one of the 12 sites identified as having development potential - Rackheath near Norwich - was regarded as "generally suitable".

The others all had question marks over them and the Weston Otmoor site was deemed least likely to proceed.