THOUSANDS of new eco homes are to be added to communities near Colchester.

The Haven Gateway Partnership has been given £200,000 by the Government to find suitable sites for 8,000 homes.

But David Ralph, its chief executive, says the homes will not be built in a separate new town. Instead, the homes will be added to existing towns and villages along the A120 from Colchester to Harwich.

The announcement comes after the Haven Gateway Partnership and Essex County Council were listed on a Government’s eco town “second wave” shortlist.

The homes will be energy-efficient, with features such as special plug-in points for electric cars, and power generation facilities with the ability for homeowners to sell surplus energy to the national grid.

A total of 16,800 homes will be built in the Colchester borough and 8,600 in Tendring in the next 20 years.

Yesterday’s announcement confirmed 8,000 of these would be eco homes along the A120, to be built after 2021.

Mr Ralph stressed the homes would not be in new standalone developments, but would go on land in existing settlements, already earmarked for development by councils.

He said: “There will be a number of developments in the Local Development Framework for post-2021. We are looking to see if the principles of eco towns can be applied.

“They will be centred around the A120.”

“These will not be eco towns – absolutely not. We are looking at the future development of housing, not creating new towns.”

John Healey, housing and planning minister, said: “Councils in this Essex partnership recognise we need to plan, design and build our homes differently in the future.

“Britain is leading the world with these new eco town standards, which combine affordable housing with new green infrastructure and an exceptional quality of life.

“Today I have pledged funding to back the Haven Gateway Partnership’s proposals, so they can strengthen Britain’s green revolution and demonstrate the ecotown potential for mainstream developments.”