THEY are the eco-towns of the future. In one, tree-lined boulevards are replaced by an avenue of wind turbines in a lake. In another, all the floor levels are raised as a safety measure against the risk of flooding.

They are the first designs for green developments that Gordon Brown has proposed should lead the way to a carbon-neutral future and ensure that the building of 3m new homes does not wreck the environment.

Fifty-seven proposed schemes have now been lodged with the government. Under a timetable outlined by Iain Wright, the junior housing minister, 10 will be chosen by February, with up to five eco-towns to be built by 2016 and the other five by 2020.

While some of the designs have been praised as imaginative, others have been condemned for simply “bolting on” green features to proposals for conventional housing estates that have previously been thrown out by local councils.

Proposed locations range from former airfields to quarries, chemical refineries and green fields. Wind energy, including the siting of turbines on houses, “harvesting” of rainwater for domestic use and the filtering of waste water through reed beds are standard in the new towns, consisting of 5,000 to 20,000 homes each, while cars are often frowned upon.

The government has said the towns must be “carbon-neutral” with energy use balanced out by recycling and environmental schemes.

However, Naomi Luhde-Thompson, planning specialist at Friends of the Earth, said the plans were far too unambitious and that not only all new settlements, but those already in existence, should be “eco-towns”.

“They should be retro-fitting all homes to improve them,” she said. “These ideas should be mainstream by now.”

Proposals put to the government include one to redevelop the site of RAF Coltishall in Norfolk which suggests retaining the shape of the old runway as a long, narrow island in a lake lined with wind turbines.

The flight control tower would be kept, but bricks and concrete from other structures would be recycled for building materials.

The communities and local government department has listed 11,000 acres of surplus public land as possible sites. Other possible locations include old airfields such as Dunsfold Park near Guildford, Long Marston in Warwickshire and Ford Airfield, West Sussex.

A former limestone quarry has been suggested at Shipton near Oxford. Shell has expressed interest in redeveloping a giant petrochemical plant at Carrington in Greater Manchester.

Sir Terence Conran, the designer, who has applied to build a 22-home eco-village in Norfolk, is understood to be holding discussions next month with Yvette Cooper, the housing minister, to develop a new town.

Even with the target of building 60% of homes on brownfield sites, the government’s target to build 3m homes by 2020 has angered conservationists such as the National Trust.

Neil Sinden, the policy director of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said his organisation was concerned about the decision-making process for the new homes.

“Many of the proposals we have heard about have already been turned down through normal planning decisions. It is not clear how the process can be transparent if the [department] does not release the list of options.”

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