Housing minister Margaret Beckett has indicated that not all sites on the ecotowns shortlist are up to the government’s stringent eco standard. Speaking at the launch of the second round of consultations for the controversial ecotowns programme, Beckett stated that the right location for the ecotowns was critical and that the shortlist had been modified to reflect the detailed assessments that had been carried out on the potential sites: “But I do not expect all of these locations to go forward – the ecotown standards are tough and I think some of these shortlisted schemes could struggle to meet them.” The government published the draft ecotowns planning policy statement (PPS) at the launch of the consultation which, said CLG, “sets out the UK’s toughest ever green standards for new development, including achieving zero carbon status across all the buildings in the ecotown and allocating 40% of the area within the town to be green space.”<br><br>A Sustainability Appraisal on each location was also published which identifies the potential impact each proposed town could have on the local economy and environment. Two “reasonable alternatives” of location were suggested and one of these – Rackheath in Greater Norwich – is the only location …