It's quite hard to find accurate information about the proposal for a new town of 15,000 to 20,000 new homes between Oadby, Great Glen, Thurnby and Houghton. The working name "Pennbury" has been given to the plans to develop land owned by Co-operative Group, including Leicester Airport.
The national initiative to build ten new towns has apparently attracted fifty proposals and a decision about which will proceed is expected in February 2008.
The key idea is to increase the supply of affordable housing and to overcome the burden that's often caused to existing infrastructure when housing estates are added to existing settlements. According to the Eco-towns prospectus there will be an emphasis on self-sufficiency and "zero-carbon" development for the new towns, and "a good range of facilities within the town including a secondary school, shopping, business space and leisure".
Understandably, the prospect of such large-scale development has already raised a lot of local concern, though it's hard to make a judgement at such an early stage. From the perspective of the Christian churches, I can see how the gradual expansion of suburban villages like Oadby has not always been matched by investment in infrastructure (including new places of worship). It would be encouraging if planners for new housing, large or small, took the needs of faith communities into account and understood how faith perspectives could contribute to a healthy town.
For those who want to find out more about "Pennbury", here's a selection of currently available resources:
- Kevin Feltham's e-petition on the Downing Street website and a report on the petition at the BBC News website
- A map of the land owned by Co-operative Group on Emma Lee's blog
- Information about the new Homes and Communities Agency, which is overseeing the proposals
- A link to the Eco Towns Prospectus at the Communities and Local Government website
- Information on Pennbury at the Save England website
