While monarchy can be quite the tricky subject in a lot of countries, in the United Kingdom, royals are still hugely popular. Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, William and Kate, even Harry and Meghan… Everybody knows their names and as curious human beings, we all want to know what they’re up to. Whether it is where they go shopping for kids’ clothes or which palace they love the most, there’s no such thing as TMI when it comes to the royal family.
Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Prince Charles building a true eco-town is getting quite a bit of attention. One might think royals don’t do much more than sitting in fancy sofas in their even more fancy palaces, yet that’s not even close to reality. In fact, their days are filled with public duties and most of them also have some personal projects in the running. And that’s no different for Prince Charles, the royal heir. With his private estate the Duchy of Cornwall he promotes net-zero farming and family residence Highgrove even makes royally yummy jam. But nothing’s stopping Charles from going even further.
Let’s begin with a little history lesson. Looking back, you’ll notice that Prince Charles previously already gained some experience in the whole development world during the nineties. His Duchy was then the driving force behind Poundbury, an experimental new town just outside Dorchester in the south-west of England. On its completion in 2025, the town is expected to house 6.000 people and at the moment, there are already over 2.000 people being employed in over 180 businesses.
Eco-conscious planning
And it seems like the Prince wanted to repeat that whole process, yet this time with a very eco-minded approach. The sustainable, ‘landscape-led’ new town will be located just outside Faversham in Kent, near London. The town will be designed by architect Ben Pentreath and established on land that’s already being owned by Charles. So, what makes this project so special? According to the plans, no less than 2.500 houses for ‘mixed-income’ residents will be located on the grounds and another 2.500 jobs will be created. The project also leaves room for a huge cycling route, orchards, meadows and so on. Children living in the town will be able to attend the local school and for thirsty residents, there’ll be a pub too. Even though locals have mixed feelings about the project, especially the increase in traffic all the extra housing will create, building is scheduled to start i
