The standards being developed are set to include

• 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
• Achieving zero carbon status across all the town's buildings, including commercial and public buildings as well as homes - a significantly tougher threshold than any existing or agreed targets
• Allocating 40 per cent of land within the town to be green space, at least half of which should be open to the public as parks or recreation areas

Housing Minister Caroline 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."

The progress report published yesterday also clarifies how the planning process for eco-towns will work, making it clear that in each case a planning application will have to be submitted and that it will be for the local authority to consider that application. The eco-towns standards will also insist that proposed developments must comply with existing planning policy.

Following changes made to the shortlisted schemes announced in April, including two new proposals for an eco-town in Rushcliffe and major changes made to the proposal at Rossington, a formal consultation on both these draft standards and a detailed sustainability appraisal of each location will now be published in September. A final decision on up to ten potential locations will be made in early 2009, after which the individual schemes will each have to submit planning applications.

The promoters for two locations originally shortlisted in April have subsequently pulled out: Manby in Lincolnshire and Curborough in Staffordshire. In addition, the New Marston proposal in Bedfordshire has also been withdrawn, but the rival Marston Vale proposal remains on the shortlist