Poundbury

Poundbury

Middlemarsh Street
Poundbury
Poundbury shown within Dorset
Population 3,000 
OS grid reference SY671549
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DORCHESTER
Postcode district DT1
Dialling code 01305
Police Dorset
Fire Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament

Poundbury is an experimental new town or urban extension on the outskirts of Dorchester in the county of Dorset, England. The development is built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. It is built according to the principles of Charles, Prince of Wales, who is known for holding strong views challenging the post-war trends in town planning that were suburban in character. Since starting in 1993, the town has received both criticism and praise from architectures and design critics.

The development is built to a traditional high-density urban pattern, rather than a suburban one, focused on creating an integrated community of shops, businesses, and private and social housing. There is no zoning. The planners say they are designing the development around people rather than the car, and they aim to provide a high-quality environment, from the architecture to the selection of materials, to the signposts, and the landscaping. To avoid constant construction, utilities are buried in common utility ducts under the town. Common areas are maintained by a management company to which all residents belong. It consists of 35% social housing and is designed for sustainable development,[1] which includes being carbon-neutral.[2]

To some degree, the project shows similarities with the contemporary New Urbanism movement, except that the design influences are European. The designs of the houses are in traditional and new classical styles, with period features such as bricked-up windows, a feature found on many old British buildings, due to the window tax.[3]

Poundbury has a population of 3,000 residents and provides over 2,000 people employment in over 180 businesses. The town is expected to be completed by 2025 with population increase estimated to be approximately 6,000 residents.

History

Poundbury as seen from Maiden Castle

Although construction started in October 1993,[4] the overall plan was conceived in the late 1980s by the Luxembourgian architect Leon Krier, and its development and architectural co-ordination is still ongoing under Krier's direction. It is expected that the four plan phases will be developed over 25 years with a total of 2,500 dwellings and a population of approximately 6,000.

Greetings card entrepreneur Andrew Brownsword sponsored the £1 million development of the market hall at Poundbury, designed by John Simpson and based on early designs, particularly the one in Tetbury.[5]

Population

As of 2016, Poundbury has a population of 3,000 residents and population is expected to increase by 2025 when completed to almost 6,000 residents.[6]

Economy and employment

Poundbury has over 2,000 people working in 180 local businesses. In 2017, businesses increased to 185 creating 2,345 jobs.[7] Businesses include a Waitrose store, a technical company which produces parts for airplane wings and a chocolate factory among many others. One notable local employer since 2000 is the breakfast food manufacturer and exporter Dorset Cereals, which employs more than 100 people at its purpose-built barn factory.[8] Reportedly there's still more space to start about 80 businesses.[9][10]

School

Poundbury has two primary schools in the catchment area, The Prince of Wales and Damers First School. Damers First School was already an existing school in Dorchester but relocated to Poundbury in 2017, where a new school was built.[11][12][13]

Attractions and landmarks

Due to Poundbury's unique looking buildings and plan, the town has been visited by architects, government officials, planners, housebuilders, and developers from around the world.[4]

Tourist attractions is centered around the Queen Mother Square, it includes Strathmore House in honour of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's heritage which has been called a replica of Buckingham Palace.[14] In 2016, the Queen Mother statue was unveiled at the square by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.[15] Also in 2016, a pub named the Duchess of Cornwall Inn was opened in honour of the Duchess of Cornwall.[16]

Every year in August, the Dorset Food & Arts Festival is held at the Queen Mother's Square attracting thousands of people. The festival showcases the town's fine produce and arts and also raises money for charities.[17][18][19]

Criticism and praise

Poundbury's aesthetics have been criticised by several commentators.[20][21] Architect Magazine’s Witold Rybczynski, has said that "Poundbury embodies social, economic, and planning innovations that can only be called radical."[20]

Following New Urbanist principles, Poundbury was intended to reduce car dependency and encourage walking, cycling, and public transport. A survey conducted at the end of the first phase, however, showed that car use was higher in Poundbury than in the surrounding (rural) district of West Dorset.[22] Nonetheless, the community is receiving positive recognition from New Urbanist publications such as Better Cities and Towns.[23]

British architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright of The Guardian states, "Poundbury, the Prince of Wales’s traditionalist village in Dorset, has long been mocked as a feudal Disneyland. But a growing and diverse community suggests it’s getting a lot of things right."[6]

See also

References

  • HRH Charles, Prince of Wales: A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture (Doubleday, 1989) ISBN 0-385-26903-X
  • Leon Krier: Architecture: Choice or Fate (Andreas Papadakis Publishers, 1998) ISBN 1-901092-03-8
  • Sandy Mitchell. "Prince Charles is not your typical radical." National Geographic. May 2006. . Retrieved 9/14/06

Notes

  1. ↑ "About Poundbury". www.poundburycommercial.com. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  2. ↑ Pentreath, Ben, How the Poundbury project became a model for innovation, Financial Times, 1 November 2013
  3. ↑ "Around Poundbury". BBC Dorset. July 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 "How the Poundbury project became a model for innovation". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Worsley, Giles (30 January 2011). "A model village grows up gracefully". The Telegraph. London, UK.
  6. 1 2 "A royal revolution: is Prince Charles's model village having the last laugh?". The Guardian. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Meeting the residents and businesses owners of Poundbury". Dorset.com. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "Dorset Cereals: Changing the world, one breakfast bowl at a time". The Independent. 28 June 2012.
  9. ↑ "Poundbury: A look at Prince Charles' sustainable village in Dorset, on its 30th birthday". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  10. ↑ "Queen visits Waitrose in Prince Charles's village Poundbury". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "School build starts on Prince Charles's Poundbury estate". BBC. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  12. ↑ "Work set to begin on £10million Poundbury school to replace Damers First School in Dorchester". dorsetecho.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  13. ↑ "Schools and education". celebratingpoundbury.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  14. ↑ "Look familiar? Prince Charles builds a spectacular house fit for a Queen Mother with Buckingham Palace lookalike tribute to his late grandmother (including eight apartments costing £650,000 each)". Dailymail. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  15. ↑ "Queen Mother statue unveiled at Poundbury estate". BBC News. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  16. ↑ "The Duchess of Cornwall Inn Opens in Poundbury". November 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  17. ↑ "Thousands go along to enjoy the fare at Dorset Food and Arts Festival in Poundbury". The Argus. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  18. ↑ "Pounbury". dorsetfestival.org. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  19. ↑ "Celebrate Dorset best at the Dorset food and art festival". Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  20. 1 2 Rybczynski, Witold (3 December 2013). Behind the Façade of Prince Charles's Poundbury. Architect.
  21. ↑ Bayley, Stephen (7 December 2008). "I'll show you a real carbuncle, Charles". The Guardian. To visit Poundbury is to be delivered to the furniture floor of a provincial department store in 1954, translated into architecture. It is fake, heartless, authoritarian and grimly cute.
  22. ↑ Watson, G.; Bentley, I.; Roaf, S.; Smith, P. (2004). Learning from Poundbury. Research for the West Dorset District Council and the Duchy of Cornwall. Oxford Brookes University.
  23. ↑ Steuteville, Robert (5 November 2013). "At 20, Poundbury is winning converts". Better Cities and Towns. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  24. ↑ "Dorset and Wiltshire fire services merge". BBC. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
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