Harbour 'eco-town' plan

The government has earmarked the area to get special funding for a review of existing local plans.

Earlier this year a proposal for 5,000 homes on Ford Airfield was dropped from the first list of planned eco-towns amid major local opposition.

Now Housing Minister John Healey has offered the Shoreham group funding to try and develop a package which would update its present plans to meet a set of strict guidelines.

"Shoreham Harbour has the interest and backing of its local councils for looking harder at whether this new standard of the way we have to design and build our homes and our neighbourhoods in the future might be right for Shoreham Harbour," said the minister.

"We will provide support for that work. The decision in the end has got to be one for the local councils and they will take those decisions as part of the established planning process and the public will have the full chance of a say in that," he said.

A group made up of Adur District Council, West Sussex County Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and Shoreham Port will now work on a feasibility study which will shape their final proposals.

Chairman of the group, Peter Latham said: "We really welcome John Healey's statement and are pleased he recognises the importance of Shoreham Harbour. From the start of the project it was always understood that exemplar standards of sustainability and environmental practice would be achieved in the regeneration of Shoreham Harbour.

"Funding from the eco-town programme would support the continuation of work on the Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP) and more detailed feasibility studies to achieve higher sustainability standards in relation to water, waste, innovative options for renewable energy generation and to create a more detailed planning framework on these and other issues including economic development and urban design. The partners will be working particularly closely with the Environment Agency on these topics."

Adur is one of nine local authorities whose plans to develop the area have been earmarked by the housing minister as meeting required standards.

Mr Healey said Adur had submitted promising ideas so far for meeting these standards, which include the toughest standards for sustainability, with smart meters to track energy use, community heat sources and charging points for electric cars; smart, efficient, homes - at least 30 per cent of the homes must be affordable - taking their energy from the sun, wind and earth.

The possibility of being able to control the heat and ventilation of their homes at the touch of a button; and sell their surplus energy into the grid. In addition all homes located within ten minutes' walk of frequent public transport and everyday neighbourhood services.

The Adur scheme would need to meet general sustainability, with water neutrality and low carbon development.