It is visited by architects, town planners, and property developers from around the world, eager to learn more about the project that is almost 40 years in the making. But one of Poundbury’s frequent visitors knows more about the project than most. King Charles III, who visits at least twice a year, is the project’s champion and plays an important role in its vision.
” His Royal Highness very much has a say in the overall philosophy and direction,” Poundbury’s estate development manager Jason Bowerman told Insider during a conversation in January 2021. Poundbury is an experimental urban extension on the outskirts of Dorchester — a historic town in Dorset, UK. Set to be complete in 2025, it is currently home to approximately 4,500 people.
While not everyone who steps foot in the urban extension is a fan, Charles firmly believes that Poundbury successfully “breaks the mold of conventional housing developments. ” The royal first became involved in the project in the late 1980s. At the time, West Dorset District Council — the local authority — was looking for an appropriate location to build additional housing.
The land on which Poundbury is built was suggested as a suitable spot. The Duchy of Cornwall owned it — the crown body, which was recently automatically inherited by Prince William , responsible for managing over 135,000 acres of landholdings across England. “The proposal came along at the same time that His Royal Highness was already considering an urban development and looking into the appropriate way of placemaking and developing livable places, rather than just developing bricks and mortar,” Bowerman explained.
The project was greenlit, and a master plan was conceived by Luxembourgish architect Leon Krier — a proponent of New Urbanism, a movement that places great focus on walkable neighborhoods and environmentally-friendly practices. Construction started in 1993. The vision, backed by the former Prince of Wales, would focus on four fundamental principles.
These principles, however, have a guiding philosophy that underlines them all — placemaking. “In a nutshell, it’s not just about row upon row of faceless buildings without any community feel to it,” Bowerman explained. “Placemaking and making a community are key here.
” “While this was certainly different to a lot of the development taking place in the 1980s, it is now a far more usual approach to be taken by developers,” he added. But while some have celebrated Poundbury for its new approaches to urban development, much of it is steeped in nostalgia. Mirroring parts of Dorchester, neoclassical and Georgian styles abound, and there is an abundance of porticos, stone colonnades, and Georgian revival terrace houses.
Charles’ disdain for modern architecture is well-known. In 1984, the royal caused a stir by castigating modern architecture and calling for a return to traditional building styles. As a result, Poundbury is reminiscent of a bygone age.
The provision of affordable housing is a key element of the project. The idea behind this is to ensure that Poundbury has “as diverse a community as is possible,” the estate’s development manager explained. Currently, 35% of all housing is considered to be affordable.
“We achieve this in a number of different ways,” Bowerman told Insider. “Be it rent or shared value price or discount to market value, there are a number of ways that affordable housing can be provided. ” Properties in Poundbury start at around £100,000 ($113,000) and reach up to £1.
8 million ($2. 05 million) for luxury penthouses. Properties sell for £401,837 ($457,397) on average, according to Rightmove.
Properties on both ends of this price range are often in close proximity to each other. That’s because the planners have gone to great efforts to ensure that affordable housing is integrated and evenly dispersed throughout the town. “If you looked down the street then you wouldn’t know from looking at it as to which homes were private houses and which ones were for affordable housing,” Bowerman said.
Charles, regarded as perhaps the most eco-friendly of all the royals , has placed great focus on designing a town for walkers and cyclists. “There’s the hope that everyone will be carbon-neutral,” Bowerman told Insider. “That will take a while to achieve but we’re making great steps toward it.
” There are four main shopping hubs within the development, so people are always a reasonable distance from those areas. ” Cars are not banned, however. “It’s rural Dorset, so we’re not expecting people not to have a car,” the estate development manager told Insider.
“The majority of households will need a car but, equally, the roads are laid out so that people feel encouraged to walk or cycle to do their day-to-day shopping. ” Cars are hidden with much of the parking below ground, so as to avoid the eyesore of streets lined with vehicles. There are also large retail units situated around the urban extension.
Charbonnel et Walker, a chocolatier that supplies its confections to the Queen, occupies one of the biggest buildings in Poundbury. Instead of being situated in an industrial zone, the factory is surrounded by houses and parkland. Aside from a royal chocolatier, Charles has left his royal mark in other ways too.
The town’s central hub is called Queen Mother Square. Poundbury’s largest pub is named after his wife, Camilla, who is now the Queen Consort. “If you look around Poundbury, you won’t see television aerials,” Bowerman said.
There is also a reluctance to include street signs. “The principle behind reduced signage is to make people responsible for their own actions when they are driving,” the estate’s development manager explained. “Rather than sitting in a metal box and relying on signage and lights, you become especially aware of the people around you and likewise for people who are walking or cycling,” he added.
“This principle works well,” Bowerman said. While some town planners have praised Poundbury as being a “model for innovation ,” it appears that not all residents and visitors are as impressed. One resident called it “soulless,” reported MailOnline.
Another told Architect Magazine : “Not everyone likes it. Some people think it looks like a movie set. ” Others have complained about poorly-finished homes and vandalism, according to The Guardian.
On TripAdvisor , some of the reviews were scathing. “Poundbury has about as much character as a scaffold plank,” commented another. Despite these criticisms of the proposed utopia, the majority say they are happy to have moved to the development.
86% were pleased to call Poundbury home, according to a survey conducted by Oxford Brookes University . .
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/poundbury-prince-charless-nostalgic-vision-of-an-english-town-2021-1
