Panel named for eco-town decision

Renewable and alternative energy, as well as energy efficiency, will be some of the issues a new government-chosen panel will have to consider over the coming months.

A dozen professionals, spanning the environment, transport and sustainability industries have been picked to offer expert advice on the delivery of Downing Street's Eco-town's Challenge.

The aim of the initiative, which the Communities and Local Government department describes as the "biggest new towns programme in the UK for 40 years", is to create areas in the country that contain low-carbon buildings en mass.

Each eco-town will hold zero-carbon sustainable developments of between 5,000 and 20,000 homes, the department has said.

The panel includes John Walker, the former chief executive of the British Urban Regeneration Association, and Dr Liz Goodwin, chief executive of the Waste and Resource Action Programme.

Earlier this month, housing minister Caroline Flint announced that there will be 15 locations considered for the eco-town scheme, including Rossington in South Yorkshire and Coltishall in Norfolk.