It is best if you write to the Eco-town team in your own words but here are some ideas and phrases you might find helpful to consider.

Cambridgeshire is already delivering new homes:

South Cambridgeshire is already engaged in delivering one of the most significant house building programmes in the country, including development of 9,000 houses at Northstowe. These schemes incorporate good public transport links and are sited near jobs and community facilities.

South Cambridgeshire District and Cambridge City Councils are committed to building 23,000 and 19,300 homes respectively, including 17,000 affordable homes. We don't need any more.

Northstowe

We already have what the government has described as a prototype Eco-Town at Northstowe, where 9,000 houses are planned. Why can’t Northstowe become a full blown Eco-Town? Let's build the homes here, where the plans are being approved by public consultation, and learn the lessons.

An Eco-Town close to Cambridge will put the delivery of Northstowe and other planned developments at risk, as planners, service, facility and infrastructure providers are stretched even more. This will put at risk their ability to deliver the significant growth already planned.

Agricultural land

Hanley Grange will be based on 500 ha of Grade 2 agricultural land. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) defines Grade 2 land as “very good” and “the best and most versatile land.....which can best deliver future crops for food”. Defra's own figures suggest that only 21% of UK farmland is Grade 1 or Grade 2. Removing this land from food production in a time of global food shortages is not ecological.

Transport

The promoters claim that many residents will travel by public transport rather than by car. However, Hanley Grange would be close to several major roads and the M11 which would encourage car dependency. The A505 and M11 are already severely congested at rush hours. The A1301 and A1307 are already crowded.

Bus and car travel to and from Cambridge from the villages in and around the Hanley Grange site already suffer severe peak time delays through bottlenecks. Hanley Grange would compound the problem.

The proximity of the already over-stretched railway line to London would encourage commuting - something contrary to the whole concept of sustainability.

One of the promoters of the eco-town is Jarrow Investments who are linked to Tesco. Should a large Tesco store be placed here, it will encourage car driving to Hanley Grange. The amount of car parking and car miles generated by the Tesco sites at Fulbourn, Royston and Milton suggest that the local, already over-crowded roads would not cope with generated traffic.

The East of England Plan have specifically sought to discourage the creation of commuter dormitory settlements feeding London and Stansted. Hanley Grange would work against this.

Water

This is one of the driest areas in the country. The site is over a groundwater protection zone. Building at Hanley Grange could well provoke flooding downstream on the Cam.

Planning and Public consultation

This is a resurrected plan which South Cambridgeshire District Council has already rejected because the location is unsuitable.

South Cambs District Council, Cambridge County Council, all local Parish Councils and Cambridge Horizons (the non-profit organisation overseeing the current house building plans) are totally opposed to an eco-town on this site.

The Royal Town Planners Institute argues that eco-towns it should not be used as a vehicle with which to ride rough-shot over local communities. The public must retain a strong voice in the decision making process.