THE flagship eco-town plan for Cornwall has been put back again amid claims ministers do not know what they are doing.

The consultation on Gordon Brown's pledge for 10 eco-towns across the country – including one in St Austell – will not now close until April. It was originally due to finish a week ago. It means a decision on which projects, if any, will be built could be months away.

While Cornwall's clay mines proposal has attracted broad support, it risks being kicked into the long grass by legal wrangling and high profile protests at other sites elsewhere in the country.

Ministers tried to put a positive gloss on the delay by claiming it gave the public more time to have their say on the proposals. But by the time the consultation finishes on April 30, it will have run for five months.

It follows a legal challenge – rejected by the courts – that not enough time has been given for people to air their views. Housing minister Margaret Beckett said: "Eco-towns present a superb opportunity to provide more affordable housing built to the UK's toughest green standards, and we cannot afford to miss it.

"But it is vital we identify the right locations for these eco-towns and I will not support any proposal that our assessment and consultation concludes is unsuitable.

"I know this is an issue that raises a lot of strong opinion on all sides. I have extended the deadline to ensure that all parties, irrespective of their views, are given the full opportunity to have their say, and I urge everyone to respond to this consultation."

But critics suggested ministers were extending the consultation in the hope of attracting more positive comments.

Liberal Democrat local government spokesman Julia Goldsworthy said: "It just seems like part of the Government's strategy at the moment – to announce a consultation, re-announce what you have done and then delay it."

The Falmouth and Camborne MP said: "The Government is in a complete tailspin and they don't really know what they are going to do about it.

"Perhaps the consultation responses they have received so far have been negative and they are hoping to find more people to be positive instead."

Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said: "This is yet another blow to the eco towns' fiasco. This is the latest in a long line of set-backs for Brown's eco-town programme which always seemed to be more about grabbing headlines than building the kind of environmentally-friendly housing that this country needs."

The St Austell bid by mining firm Imerys would see 5,000 homes across six brown field sites in and around the town.

The plan has been praised for having the potential to harness wind, wave, tidal, geo and solar thermal power while also expanding the wildlife habitats in the area.

In a comment on the official consultation website, WH Fullerton from St Austell said: "Eco-towns sound attractive, but if much greenfield land is used and many roads are created, the general environment will only suffer.

"It must be possible to make green and attractive already built areas, any extra cost will be worth it long term."