FORD'S fate as a potential Eco-Town may not be revealed until next year, campaigners against the "green" development of 5,000 homes were told by a government minister this week.
The government had been expected to announce its final list of Eco-Town sites by no later than October, but housing minister Caroline Flint said on Monday, June 30, it was likely to be the end of the year or early 2009 when the locations would be mad
e known.
Mrs Flint hinted at the delay during a private meeting with representatives of protest groups from eight of the 15 short-listed Eco-Town areas, including Communities Against Ford Eco-Town (CAFE), which took 50 members along to the lobby at Westminster.
The minister also confirmed that she would be visiting Ford on a date yet to be arranged.
CAFE vice-chairman Vicky Newman, from Yapton, had mixed feelings after meeting the minister. "We can take great comfort in the date being pushed back," she said, "but it is still being severely rushed."
Mrs Newman was disappointed that there was a clear attitude on the government's part of "beating up districts like Arun" which it felt had not tackled its housing issues, which could tip the balance in favour of Ford, where a large, flat piece of land could be developed almost instantly if the landowners and housebuilders could get planning permission.
Another concern was the Prime Minister's enthusiasm for Eco-Towns, said Mrs Newman.
"Mrs Flint made it quite clear that the Eco-Towns policy was one of Gordon Brown's first initiatives he announced on becoming Prime Minister, something he held dear to his heart and something she deeply believed in.
However, Mrs Newman, a chartered surveyor, said there was a positive side to the meeting with the minister.
"At least by us chipping away at the edges of the issue, the government is having to listen to us.
"We are being effective, and when Mrs Flint comes down to the site, she can see for herself how unsatisfactory the location is and how strained the existing roads and facilities are.
"Hopefully, she will also go to Littlehampton and Bognor and be able to really appreciate what she could be trashing there."
During the 35-minute meeting with the minister, Mrs Newman and CAFE co-chairman Terry Knott presented the group's submission on the Ford site to Mrs Flint – Monday was the final day for responses in the first round of the government's consultation on its Eco-Town programme.
CAFE members and the other groups were also given a presentation by Conservative MPs and shadow housing minister Grant Shapps, who highlighted his party's opposition to Eco-Towns, but underlined the need for housing development.
Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert and Littlehampton's MP Nick Gibb met the CAFE supporters at the Houses of Parliament during the lobby.
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