'Affordable' eco-town homes could cost £300,000

Eco-town homes could cost at least £300,000, destroying the government’s aims to make the green settlements affordable.

A report by Warwickshire county council said features such as thicker insulation and renewable energy production could add at least £20,000 to the cost of each home.

The council was investigating the Middle Quinton eco-town near Stratford-upon-Avon, which is being opposed by Dame Judi Dench and John Nettles.

The report warned that providing the infrastructure to reduce its carbon footprint could cost three times the £100m estimated by the developers, reports the Daily Telegraph.

It comes off the back of a report by the eco-town advisory panel that found many of the 15 shortlisted sites lack adequate infrastructure and miss sustainability criteria.