The 15 shortlisted locations for the UK's eco-towns were announced by the communities department last week, but the winning bidders will have had just enough time to grab a mouthful of champagne before they have to turn their attention to securing a place in the 10 that will be built. This is where the real work starts - and it will not be cheap. The exact cost will depend on how much work each has to do to meet the government's targets - and some have a lot more than others. However, the average bid cost will be about ￡500,000, according to Jeremy Edge, head of planning at Knight Frank. This will pay for all the lawyers, architects and QSs whose advice will be sought, as well as engineering issues such as improving transport links and achieving sustainability target. Then there is the social dimension: how many jobs will the development create? And what are the plans for dealing with protesters? All that work will have to be done by 30 June. Then, on top of that, there are the costs of applying for planning permission at the end of this year. It is likely that only the 10 that make the cut will do this, but the average cost for each is expected to hit ￡lm, bringing the total cost to a hefty ￡1.5m.
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