Tesco pulls out of eco-towns project in UK

Gordon Brown's plan for eco-towns was unravelling last night, with Tesco withdrawing from one of the proposed greenfield developments.

The supermarket chain, which owns 80 per cent of the land, was providing most of the financial backing for an eco-town with 7,000 homes at Hanley Grange, near Cambridge. But the project has been heavily opposed by local campaigners and all the surrounding councils. Yesterday Tesco pulled the plug.

It means that a quarter of the developers on the Government's shortlist of 15 eco-towns have now abandoned the schemes, which have prompted widespread protests.

Ministers have deferred until the new year the decision on which projects will proceed. But it is likely that only three or four will be given the go-ahead for the first phase. The developments, of 5,000 to 20,000 homes, are supposed to include a high percentage of affordable homes, with zero-carbon flats and houses surrounded by green spaces. Car use is to be curtailed through both incentives and restrictions.