Prince Charles has his fingers in a lot of pies. The Duchy of Cornwall, his private estate, does a lot of work promoting net-zero farming, and at family residence Highgrove, they make some very nice jam.
The heir to the throne is into housing development, too. His latest venture is a sustainable, ‘landscape-led’ new town just outside Faversham in Kent, near London. The Prince actually already owns the land, and is collaborating with architect Ben Pentreath to build homes on the site.
The plan is to create 2,500 houses for ‘mixed-income’ residents, plus create 2,500 jobs. The royal has included orchards, meadows and allotments in the designs, along with a huge cycle-path route. Oh, and they’re adding in a new school, cricket green and – because this is England – a good ol’ pub too.
It’s not the first time Prince Charles has turned his hand to building a new community from scratch. In the 1990s, the Duchy was behind Poundbury, just outside Dorchester in the south-west of England. That was pretty controversial at the time, and this new development hasn’t gone down entirely well with locals either.
Some have complained that the increased population will exacerbate traffic problems, others have questioned its green credentials. But on the other side, many are pleased that new housing will be available in the area. All your classic new development stuff.
Subject to planning approval, building work is scheduled to start in 2023. That leaves the Prince a good couple of years to win over the Nimbys.
Now read about ten developments that’ll change our cities for ever – and five genius urban projects helping us think long term.