"I’m not sure these eco-towns are demonstrating what was intended"

Not eco as in “economic” | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog

Householders wanting to live in Gordon Brown’s pioneering eco-towns face service charges of more than £500 a year on top of their annual council tax bill.

Developers in several of the 13 proposed sites are planning to levy annual charges for subsidised bus travel and management costs to be paid to a local community trust.

The disclosure coincides with government proposals, to be published tomorrow, that only one person per household in eco-towns should drive to work. Developers will be expected to provide trams, buses, trains and jobs in a town to ensure that more than half of all journeys are made by bicycle, foot or public transport.

Residents would be expected to make a huge “behavioural change” to meet the targets and it is unclear who would fund the extra public transport.