Mrs Flint appeared on BBC2's Newsnight programme last night (July 23) saying she would be issuing a statement today.

An eco-town of 15,000 homes has been proposed on farmland near Great Glen owned by Co-operative Partnerships and English Partnerships.

Their plan was shortlisted by the Government as one of 15 potential sites in April although Mrs Flint said last night that some of the bidders had now dropped out.

The report says that eco-towns must:

*Achieve zero-carbon status across all the town's buildings, including commercial and public buildings as well as homes.

*40 per cent of land within the town must be green space, at least half of which should be open to the public as parks or recreation areas.

*Providing a minimum of 30 per cent 'affordable' housing.

*Create more travel options to reduce residents' reliance on the car such as public transport, walking and cycling.

*Ensuring a minimum of one job per house can be reached by sustainable transport to reduce dependence on the car.

*Locating the average home within ten minutes' walk of frequent public transport and everyday neighbourhood services.

*Raising the threshold for individual homes so that they must all achieve at least Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, which includes standards for household waste recycling, construction waste, water efficiency measures and reduced pollution.

Mrs Flint said: "These would be the toughest standards ever set out for new development and demonstrate that there will be no compromise on quality with eco-towns.

"We need to build more homes in this country, but given that housing contributes 27 per cent of our carbon emissions we must also take this opportunity to trial new ways of tackling climate change. In both cases, doing nothing is not an option."

To see the report in full click on:
www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/904561