WORD that a so-called eco-town larger than Pershore could be built at the old Throckmorton airfield in south Worcestershire should be treated with some caution.

QinetiQ, which owns parts of the land there, says that the site has only been put forward for possible development and no planning process has started. But we are right to be wary. The Government has coveted Throckmorton for some time. Five years ago the site was controversially earmarked as a site for an asylum centre, and we can be sure that ministers are still itching to develop it in the way they think fit.

Unfortunately, they - and only they - may have the final say on the future of Throckmorton, because the Government's eco-homes proposals conveniently circumvent local planning controls.

We are not necessarily suggesting that such a new town is a bad idea - it certainly merits discussion. But just think of the infastructure 20,000 news homes would require; the roads, schools, shops and medical services that would have to be put in place to service such an influx of people.

And all this on top of the 32,000 homes Worcestershire may already be required to accommodate under the Government's Regional Spatial Strategy.

These are issues that must be debated locally by the people who will be affected by them, not just by a bunch of mandarins in Whitehall.

Ecologically-sound building schemes should not become an excuse to undermine local democracy.