Fourteen leading experts will today challenge developers to improve their visions for eco-towns and deliver world class proposals for the first new towns in the UK for 45 years.

The panel of leading figures from the worlds of design, the environment, transport and sustainability, was selected by Housing Minister Caroline Flint to provide expert advice and support to bidders and inject new thinking on how eco-towns could be best delivered in each of the 15 short listed locations.

The Eco-Town Challenge Panel will throw down its challenge to bidders at its first meeting with them today.

Caroline Flint said: "Only the best bids with the highest environmental standards stand a chance of being selected as an eco-town. The panel will have a vital role in encouraging and inspiring developers to aim as high as possible in each potential location. There are no done deals and I expect bidders to raise their game by taking on board the expert advice available to them, to make the most of this unique opportunity to deliver the affordable, greener homes our first time buyers and young families desperately need."

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The panel will address issues such as ensuring house designs are sensitive to local surroundings and create homes people want to live in, using the site's natural resources efficiently, creating a vibrant and healthy community for people of all ages, encouraging more journeys on foot, bicycle and public transport, ensuring the development makes the best use of new technologies, and improving the potential of the area to create jobs and spark an entrepreneur spirit.

The panel will publish recommendations to each bidder over the comings months on how they could improve their vision for eco-towns. Ministers will make the final decision on locations for Eco-town development based on the quality of bids and with reference to the criteria set out in the Eco-town Prospectus.

(CD/NS)