The nostalgia of seeing King Charles III of an English city

• Poundbury is an urban sprawl of Dorchester in Dorset, United Kingdom.
• King Charles III spearheaded its guiding philosophy.
• While some praised her innovation, others said she lacked personality.
• Visit the Insider homepage for more stories.

Visited by architects, city planners and property developers from all over the world, they are eager to learn more about the project that is nearly 40 years in the making.

But one of Poundbury’s frequent visitors knows a lot more about the project than most.

King Charles III, who visits at least twice a year, is the protagonist of the project and plays an important role in its vision.

“His Royal Highness has a great say in public philosophy and direction,” Jason Bowerman, director of real estate development at Poundbury, told Insider during a January 2021 conversation.

Poundbury is an experimental urban sprawl on the outskirts of Dorchester – a historic town in Dorset, United Kingdom. Scheduled to be completed in 2025, it is home to about 4,500 people.

While not everyone who walks his feet in the urban sprawl is a fan, Charles is a firm believer. poundberry Successfully “breaks the mold of traditional housing projects.”

The involvement of King Charles III

King first took part in the project in the late eighties.

At the time, West Dorset County Council – the local authority – was looking for a suitable site to build additional housing.

The land on which Poundbury is built has been suggested as a suitable site.

Possessed by the Duchy of Cornwall – the body of the crown, which was Recently Prince William inherited it automaticallyResponsible for managing more than 135,000 acres of land across England.

“The proposal came at the same time that His Royal Highness was already thinking about urban development and looking at the appropriate way to make places and develop livable spaces, rather than just brick and mortar development,” Bowerman explained.

The project was green lit, and a master plan was designed by Luxembourgian architect Léon Krier – an advocate of New Urbanism, a movement that places great emphasis on walkable neighborhoods and eco-friendly practices.

Poundberry guiding philosophy

Construction began in 1993. The vision, supported by the former Prince of Wales, will focus on four core principles.

• The architecture of the place: creating beauty and reflecting the character and local identity
• Affordable integrated housing: integrated with private and indistinguishable housing, offering a variety of options
• Walkable Community: Designed for pedestrians instead of just the car
• Mix of uses: Integrating homes with retail, other employment uses and public spaces

However, these principles have a guiding philosophy that emphasizes them all – place making.

“In short, it’s not just about rows of faceless buildings without any community feeling them,” Bowerman explained. “Making placements and creating a community are key here.”

“While this was certainly different from a lot of development that happened in the ’80s, it is now a much more common approach to be taken by developers,” he added.

But while some celebrate Poundbury for its new approach to urban development, many are steeped in nostalgia.

There are identical parts of Dorchester, neoclassical and Georgian styles, and there is an abundance of arcades, stone columns, and Georgian terrace houses.

Charles’s disdain for modern architecture is well known.

In 1984, The Royal Hotel caused an uproar by criticizing modern architecture and advocating a return to traditional building patterns.

As a result, poundberry is reminiscent of a bygone era.

Affordable housing

Providing affordable housing is an essential component of the project.

The property development manager explained that the idea behind this was to ensure that Poundbury had “as diverse a community as possible”.

Currently, 35% of all housing is considered affordable.

“We achieve this in many different ways,” Bowerman told Insider. “Whether it’s the rental price, the common value price, or the discount from market value, there are a number of ways that affordable housing can be made available.”

Properties in Poundbury start at around £100,000 ($113,000) and go up to £1.8 million ($2.05 million) for a luxury penthouse. Properties sold for an average of 401,837 pounds ($457,397) on average Right Move.

Properties on both ends of this price range are often close to each other. That’s because planners have gone to great lengths to ensure that affordable housing is integrated and evenly distributed throughout the city.

“If you looked down the street, you wouldn’t know by looking at it which homes were private homes and which were for affordable housing,” Bowerman said.

The largest pub in Poundbury is named after his wife Camilla

Charles, who is considered perhaps The most environmentally friendly among all members of the royal familyHe focused heavily on designing a city for pedestrians and cyclists. “There is hope that everyone will be carbon neutral,” Bowerman told Insider. “It will take some time to achieve this, but we are taking big steps towards it.”

There are four major shopping malls in the project, so people are always at a reasonable distance from those areas.”

Cars are not prohibited, however.

“It’s rural Dorset, so we wouldn’t expect people not to own a car,” the director of real estate development told Insider. “The majority of families will need a car, but, equally, the roads are designed so that people feel encouraged to walk or cycle to do their daily shopping.”

Cars are hidden with plenty of underground parking, in order to avoid vehicle-lined streets.

There are also large retail units located around the urban sprawl. Charbonnel et Walker, a chocolatier who offers his desserts to the Queen, occupies one of the largest buildings in Poundbury.

Instead of the factory being located in an industrial area, the factory is surrounded by houses and gardens.

Aside from the royal chocolatier, Charles left his royal mark in other ways as well.

The central hub of the city is called Queen Mother Square. Poundbury’s largest pub is named after his wife Camilla, who is now the Queen’s Queen.

Other innovations

“If you look around Poundberry, you won’t see TV antennas,” Bowerman said.

That’s because the majority of facilities, including satellites, are actually located underground.

There is also a reluctance to put up street signs. “The principle behind lowering the signage is to make people accountable for their actions while driving,” explained the property development manager.

“Instead of sitting in a metal box and relying on signs and lights, you become especially aware of the people around you as well as the people who walk or cycle,” he added.

“This principle works well,” Bowerman said.

Some residents describe it as “soulless”

While some city planners praised Poundbury as a A model for innovationNot all residents and visitors seem to like this.

One resident stated that she was “without a soul.” MailOnline.

Another said Architect magazine: “Not everyone likes it. Some people think it looks like a movie set.”

Others complained of poorly finished homes and vandalism, he said Watchman.

—HamishMThompson January 25 2021

on me TripAdvisorSome of the reviews were harsh.

Another commented, “Boundberry’s character is equivalent to a scaffolding board character.”

Despite these criticisms of the proposed utopia, the majority say they are happy with the move to development.

86% were happy to call Boundbury home, according to A Survey conducted by Oxford Brookes University.