Lib Dems: Government plans slow green agenda

The Liberal Democrats have attacked the government's eco-town policy for "holding back the green agenda" in the UK.

Following the announcement of a shortlist of 15 potential locations for the towns, the party has questioned why only this small proportion of new homes should be included in targets.

"Brown's eco-towns are just a smokescreen for the government’s poverty of ambition. Why should just seven per cent of the new homes planned by this Government be sustainable?" said Lembit Opik, Lib Dem shadow housing minister.

The party argues the government should be focusing resources on existing properties.

"We have to work harder to make every town eco-friendly, because three quarters of the homes we’ll be living in by 2050 have already been built," continued Mr Opik.

"We need to drastically improve the energy efficiency of existing homes and build all new homes to high standards - this is our real challenge."

As a result, the eco-towns plan is likely to prove insufficient.

"Making a mere handful of developments eco-friendly is simply not good enough. It will take a lot more than this to make a serious impact on climate change," concluded Mr Opik.