Ministers faced charges of political opportunism last night after revealing that 12 of the 15 locations proposed for new eco-towns would be in Conservative-held constituencies.

The first potential new towns in England for 40 years will be low-energy, carbon-neutral developments built from recycled materials. The largest will provide between 15,000 and 20,000 new homes.

Ministers say the ten towns eventually chosen will be “zero-carbon” developments and should be “exemplary” in one area of sustainability, such as energy production or waste disposal, with 30-40 per cent of each town providing affordable housing. They want five of them built by 2016, and the other half completed by 2020.

Once finally chosen they will be subject to normal local authority planning procedures but ministers hope that the weight of government support behind them will help to ease the process.

The Prime Minister plans to invite people to choose names for the new towns. One developer has proposed free public transport for residents of its eco-town, another plans terminals in each home with updated bus timetables and other bulletins on local transport, and a third has designed “green” footpaths and cycle paths to schools.

The Conservatives, who are not opposed to the principle of eco-towns, concentrated their fire last night on the way the Government had chosen them. Grant Shapps, the housing spokesman, said: “This smacks of political opportunism. Instead of delivering real change, Labour have cynically focused on imposing eco-towns on Conservative constituencies and not in Labour areas. The public deserve better than this.”

Many of the sites will face local opposition. They are at Bordon, Hampshire; Coltishall, Norfolk; Curborough, Staffordshire; Elsenham, Essex; Ford, West Sussex; Hanley Grange, Cambridgeshire; Imerys, near St Austell, Cornwall; Leeds city region, West Yorkshire; Manby, Lincolnshire; Marston Vale and New Marston, Bedfordshire; Middle Quinton, Warwickshire; Pennbury, Leicestershire; Rossington, South Yorkshire; Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire; and Weston Otmoor, Oxfordshire.

All but three are in Conservative constituencies. One that is not is Rossington, part of the constituency of Caroline Flint, the Housing Minister.

Some of the shortlisted areas have attracted protests over the damage they could do to existing communities or to greenfield land and natural areas. Local communities near Pennbury, Middle Quinton, and Marston Vale and New Marston have made protests.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said it was disappointed with the shortlist, with many sites threatening greenfield and agricultural land, as well as attractive landscapes.

The Royal Town Planning Institute told the Government it risked creating “soulless Stepford Wives suburbia” if it did not ensure the new settlements were well linked to existing developments.

The Liberal Democrats accused the Government of a lack of commitment to green homes and a lack of ambition, with just 7 per cent of the three million houses that would be built by 2020 set to be in eco-towns. Environmental groups including the RSPB and Friends of the Earth also said that the eco-town schemes would be a “drop in the ocean” in the face of the wider house building. Other green organisations urged the Government to put sustainability, wildlife and green spaces at the heart of the plans.

The proposals also face litigation from some of Britain’s biggest building companies, which object to a “dual-track” planning system that will penal-ise their existing schemes in favour of new eco-towns in the same regions.

One of the areas shortlisted for a 15,000-house eco-town is Pennbury in Leicestershire. A 5,000-home proposal for a nearby site is currently going through the local planning system. Hanley Grange in Cambridgeshire is also shortlisted for an eco-town containing 8,000 new homes next to the A11. The site was rejected by a government-appointed panel as inappropriate for housing two years ago.

Other innovative proposals for towns on the shortlist include underground systems for waste recycling, free public transport, planting and harvesting woodland to provide biomass fuel and recycling waste heat from nearby power stations.

Kate Gordon, of the CPRE, said: “We fully support the Government’s aspirations for achieving the highest standards in terms of sustainability and affordability, but achieving high environmental standards on site is not enough if the development is in the wrong place.”

The National Trust said it was pleased to see sustainability criteria included in the eco-towns consultation, but said that the proposals should be scrutinised to make sure they go far enough on measures such as protecting wildlife, avoiding flooding and preventing excess car use.

Ms Flint said that the towns would help to tackle climate change, as well as providing affordable new housing.

Mr Shapps said the Conservatives would always back plans for sustainable eco-communities but added: “I’m afraid there are several on this list which will cause concern because they’ re being built on green fields.”

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