Greener business in the new eco-towns
Milton Keynes? So last century. For the latest in new towns, look no further than the government’s eco-towns initiative. Rising to the complex challenges of climate change, an aging and singleton population and a shortage of affordable housing, we now know the 15 potential locations for the country’s first new towns since the 1960s. Spread the length of England from St. Austell in Cornwall to Leeds, the shortlist has been whittled down from a longer list of 57, and up to ten are expected to be under construction by 2010.
So what makes an eco-town? Largely self-sufficient but with strong links to neighbouring towns and cities, each eco-town will offer around 5-20,000 new homes, of which 30-50 per cent will be affordable housing. To support all those new residents, the towns must include facilities such as schools, shops, business units and leisure space. Every development will be zero carbon and showcase at least one environmental technology such as waste water management or localised power generation. And with an important acknowledgement that a town is only as ‘eco’ as the people who live in it, each new town will have a management company to support new residents and encourage business and community networks to flourish.
It’s still too early to get a glimpse of what an actual eco-town might look like. Despite laudable ministerial rhetoric about high quality design and creating a unique sense of place, a Communities and Local Government spokesperson has stressed that there’s nothing to see yet. The bids have been kept under wraps and the current focus is on selecting the right locations, rather than finessing the final plans.
But we can get something of a sneak preview in Northstowe, a new town already under construction on a former RAF base five miles outside Cambridge. With 9,500 new homes and facilities to match, Northstowe expects to use just half the water and energy of a comparable development through best practice design and microgeneration, photovoltaic panels and solar water heating technologies.
Crucial to Northstowe’s future success is its connection to the county’s £100m guided bus scheme, and smart travel systems need to be at the heart of every eco-town. Included in the 15 shortlisted bids are ideas such as real time public transport information accessed in the home, remote parking to deter short car journeys and endowments for ongoing transport subsidy.
Excellent transport links are a must to entice businesses to set up in the eco-towns. Creating new jobs that last once the builders have moved on is a vital but tricky element of any regeneration scheme, and the proposed eco-towns must have a clear strategy for employment generation. Linked to the economic strategies of nearby towns and cities, each eco-town will have a different focus. For example, the proposed Middle Quinton eco-town near Stratford-upon-Avon offers scope to develop businesses around recycling and sustainable construction, and Coltishall, near Norwich, would benefit from the prison development already under consideration.
So will it be business as usual in an eco-town? Enterprises can certainly expect lower energy costs as bids currently include ideas such as planting and harvesting woodland around the new town to provide biomass energy and using waste heat from local power stations for homes and businesses. SMEs and freelancers will enjoy an excellent IT infrastructure and flexible live/work units, and there will be plenty of support from the town’s management company whose role is to facilitate the social, institutional and professional infrastructure for business success. Not to mention the positive reputational benefits of being a pioneer in the next generation of green towns.
Of course, the fate of every eco-town hangs in the planning balance and given the scale of the proposed developments, it’s no surprise local feeling is running high. Enlightened developers will be making every effort to genuinely understand and act on the community’s needs and concerns. And that includes those of local businesses. By getting involved with the consultations now underway, commercial enterprises have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help create the greener commercial environment they’ve always dreamed of.
To read more about eco-towns and opportunities see:
Article written by Esther Maughan McLachlan, Director of Strong Language
esther.maughan@strong-language.co.uk
