Former MP will lead flagship eco-town project in clay country
Matthew Taylor, the former Liberal Democrat MP for Truro and St Austell, is to be the independent chairman of the board co-ordinating Cornwall's flagship eco-town project.
The politician, who stood down ahead of last month's General Election, will be responsible for helping to bring together developers, planners, funding bodies and environmental groups to ensure the multi-million project across six former clay mines in St Austell is a success.
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Matthew Taylor
Mr Taylor said: "High quality affordable homes, sustainable new employment, and the facilities needed for strong communities and neighbourhoods – this is the opportunity. My job will be to help this happen, working with the community as well as Government agencies to make sure we get it right.
"Having lived in the clay community for 23 years, I share the hopes, and know the challenges we face. Now it is time to deliver."
Last July former prime minister Gordon Brown and former housing minister John Healey announced ambitious plans to position Cornwall at the forefront of "ultra-green living", after announcing St Austell would be one of a handful of sites earmarked for the multi-million pound eco towns project.
The then-government confirmed up to 5,500 homes would be built across six former clay mines in the Mid-Cornwall town, creating 5,000 jobs.
The first planning application is expected to be submitted for the ambitious scheme by the end of this year, with building work continuing for up to two decades.
But last week, new housing minister Grant Shapps said Labour's flagship eco-town project would be dramatically downgraded as the new administration prepares to spell out in detail how all new homes will be "zero carbon" by 2016.
Mr Shapps told the Western Morning News that Labour was wrong to have "devoted an enormous amount of time, resources and even individual policy statements just about those eco-towns".
He Shapps said: "We are really keen to see not just eco- towns, but all housing being eco-friendly.
"Rather than focusing an enormous amount of time and money on a very small number of developments, I want to see all homes built to those standards."
Last week it was announced that Mr Taylor will take up a seat in the House of Lords. He is also chairman of the National Housing Federation and joined the board of South West Water after leaving Parliament.
10 Comments
by Paddy Trembath, Praa Sands
Tuesday, June 08 2010, 5:26PM
“Big Ger, Truro wrote:-
¿Do you know that these infrastructure needs will not be provided for Paddy, or are you just being negative for the sake of it? ¿
.
No, I do not believe that I am being negative for the sake of it, or even that negative, just realistic.
Their website you linked to, in you other post, mentions that they plan to ¿deliver up to 5,500 eco-homes¿, of which ¿40% of these dwellings to be provided as affordable homes for the local community¿.
a/ The question of what actually constitutes ¿affordable¿ springs to mind. Do they mean affordable to the ¿local community¿, or some other ¿affordable¿ bench mark.
b/ So, that is 60% being provided for ¿new¿ residents. That means 3,300 of these eco-homes will be inhabited by, say an average of 3 people to each eco-home, giving us an extra 9,900 inhabitants, all needing the usual trapping of a modern society.
Transport, roads will need bringing up to scratch, I know that they will be promoting the use of electric cars, and claim to wish to reduce the need for travelling, but the simple fact is that these people will still need to go to other places than those provided for them in the proposed developments, they will also wish to get out and about looking around Cornwall itself.
Health care, I know that the company claim to have plans to provide the opportunity for ¿professional occupations to serve the communities, such as doctors, dentists, teachers¿ but these are things that are out of the control of the developers, all they can do is hope that it works out that way.
Services, whilst electricity, gas if used, and telephone services, are relatively easy to provide increased supply capacity for, it is the water, and sewerage that are going to be problematical, these services are being stretched to the limit now, and this scheme looks to provide another 10,000 people using water and wishing to get rid of their waste, I know that this is supposedly an eco-development, but no matter how clever they are, there will always need to be an input of fresh water, and an export of foul water. Then there is the question of household waste, again, these developments cannot be that green that they will produce zero waste. Is that going to end up in more landfill, or burnt in an incinerator that no-one seems to want anywhere near them.
Employment, they claim to have plans for the ¿potential for over 5,000 jobs¿, notice the word potential, some of which will be in the ¿construction of the new settlements¿, not exactly long term then. They claim they have plans for other types of employment, but I can find nothing on the site that says how these new jobs are actually going to materialise, nor do they say what proportion of these jobs will be the short term construction ones. In the mid west of America, back at the turn of the 19th century, they had a saying, ¿Rain follows the plough¿ it did not take them long to realise that they were wrong, but by then thousands of lives had been ruined, please do not tell me that these people think that ¿Jobs follow the builder¿.
In short, I feel that apart from the fact that there is not the local need for the amount of houses various people wish to build in Cornwall, (I do not claim that there is no need for any new development) not enough has been done to look at the effects that all these new residents of Cornwall will have on the local environment, the local infrastructure, and on themselves
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The questions that need to be asked are, not only, ¿Does Cornwall need all this new development?¿, but also, ¿Can Cornwall cope with, and provide for, all this new development?¿. Speaking personally, I would say that the answer to both those questions is a loud NO!”
by Big Ger, Looking at the new homes
Tuesday, June 08 2010, 11:33AM
“Just a quick glance at the company's website should allay your fears Paddy!
Housing & Communities ¿ creating homes and communities of the future
Our objective is to deliver up to 5,500 eco-homes built to a high quality design, with 40% of these dwellings to be provided as affordable homes for the local community.
Plans include:
Homes designed with sustainable low carbon construction at their core.
Developing Live-work opportunities that can cut the need to travel and bring new working practices to the community.
Improved access to increased community services, such as schools, healthcare, community halls and libraries, local markets and employment space.
Green space within and around the communities for healthy recreation and food production.
Enhanced transport links between existing and new communities for the benefit of all.
http://eco-bos.com/key-themes/housing-and-communities/
But, of course, this will not be good enough for some in Cornwall.”
by Big Ger, Truro
Tuesday, June 08 2010, 11:28AM
“Do you know that these infrastructure needs will not be provided for Paddy, or are you just being negative for the sake of it?”
by Emmett, In the hoose
Tuesday, June 08 2010, 8:14AM
“"English Imperial State"?
More foolish rhetoric.”
by Paddy Tembath, Praa Sands
Monday, June 07 2010, 10:37PM
“Big Ger, Truro wrote:-
"This eco-town would be a blessing. What would people prefer, an old clay spoil tip, or a new community.
Does it really matter who's supporting or involved with it?
The present sites are an eyesore and not used for anything, we should welcome this new development no matter what our politics. "
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Ignoring the questionable need for such housing in Cornwall, the question that needs to be asked, is where is the infrastructure that these houses will need. The improved roads, Hospital beds, Doctors, Dentists, Teachers, etc, etc,etc?”
by Big Ger, Truro
Monday, June 07 2010, 8:38PM
“This eco-town would be a blessing. What would people prefer, an old clay spoil tip, or a new community.
Does it really matter who's supporting or involved with it?
The present sites are an eyesore and not used for anything, we should welcome this new development no matter what our politics.”
by Truro Voter, Truro
Monday, June 07 2010, 5:30PM
“Have a heart - like most of the political class,Taylor has never done a proper day's work in his life. Can't expect the poor old geezer to start now!”
by David, St Austell
Monday, June 07 2010, 4:32PM
“How can anyone trust the Lib Dems after the mess they made of the county council A unitary authority which no-one wanted foisted on us - a CEO getting paid more than the Prime Minister - none of this was opposed by Matthew Taylor. Strangely enough he was opposed to the House of Lords wonder what his stance is now.”
by Onan Hag All, Kernow
Monday, June 07 2010, 10:29AM
“Well said "Calmer Waters".
All these years we trusted taylor, and he turns out to be no better than teh rest of them.
This is a sham!! Why is the money not being used to build low cost housing for the indigenous Cornish!?!?
Why can our children look forward to a life of penury, and to never being able to afford a house in Kernow!?!
If you are born Cornish it is the greatest blessing one can have, and teh English Imperial State are doing all they can to drive us from that blessing with a planned and devious campaign of cultural genocide.”
by Calmer Waters, The Celtic Nation And Duchy Of Cornwall
Monday, June 07 2010, 10:08AM
“The alleged 'eco-town' is clearly 'greenwash' gone ballistically deranged.
CornishZetetist sums up its double-speak bullsmit and hypocritical hinterland very well here:
http://cornishzetetics.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-austell-bay-global-meet-gullible.html
here:
http://cornishzetetics.blogspot.com/2010/05/housing-market-failure-market-fetish.html
and here:
http://cornishzetetics.blogspot.com/2009/10/shock-cornish-media-hero-has-clay-feet.html
Overload Cornwall with yet more UNSUSTAINABLE house building and population and infrastructure overload?
Render the strategically important Par Docks unusable for commercial shipping and future lower carbon import/export?
The NON-eco-town charade is NOT in the best interests of Cornwall and her people and Cornwall Council and Matthew Taylor should be resisting and opposing this externally imposed greenwash sham and scam and, instead, arguing for no more unnecessary house building alongside the restoration of industrially degraded, no longer utilised 'brown field' sites to green field by way of bio-industries providing full employment for the existing population and exporting plant based products via Par Docks - that's 'greener'!.
GREENWASH:
http://www.greenwashingindex.com/what.php”