Eco-town dropped
Proposals for a 6,000-home eco-town at the former RAF Newton site were yesterday rejected by the Government.
The Department of Communities and Local Government announced four sites in the first wave and the possibility of a further six in the second wave.
But RAF Newton has been ruled out.
A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: “The Rushcliffe/Newton site doesn’t have any Government support.
“It has been excluded as far as we are concerned.”
The Government named sites in Hampshire, Cornwall, Norfolk and Oxfordshire. Two potential areas in Doncaster and Essex will continue to develop their proposals.
The spokesman said: “Rushcliffe/Newton isn’t anything to do with those sites. It doesn’t have Government support now or in the future.
“We don’t have any specific sites in mind for the second wave. We will be working with local authorities in the future.”
Mr Peter Savage, the secretary of the No2Newton campaign group, said it was a huge relief that the Newton proposal had been dropped.
He said: “I am absolutely delighted because to have been in the second wave was still a threat.
“I find it incredible that the Government is just dropping us altogether.
“It is much better news than that we simply weren’t in the first four sites.
“The eco-town would have done massive damage and if the Government had gone ahead, they would not have listened to the views of local people.”
Mr Savage said something did need to be done about the disused RAF base, but the eco-town was the wrong option.
He felt an eco-town would not create affordable housing, be too densely populated and that people would still need cars to travel to work.
“The important thing now is that something sympathetic is done at Newton,” Mr Savage said.
“The interesting point is that all four locations chosen have the great support from their local councils.
“In our case, the county council, borough council and town council were very much opposed.”
Initially, there were 57 expressions of interest to develop eco-towns, a Government initiative to create environmentally-friendly communities promoting low-cost homes, green energy and transport, and carbon-neutral facilities.
Newton made a shortlist of 15 that went forward for public consultation.
The landowners — Crown Estate, Defence Estates and Nottingham LLP — drew up plans for the site that included an eco-park, woodland, nature centre, two primary schools, a secondary school and a bridge linking the eco-town to Bingham.
But the proposal attracted widespread criticism over fears the local infrastructure would not cope with such a large-scale development.
Hundreds of people signed petitions and attended public meetings against the proposal and No2Newton, formed in July last year, delivered thousands of leaflets across the district in opposition.
