How King Charles III has Placed His Mark on the Property World as the Prince of Wales
Posted by The Landsite on 8th May 2023 -
The Prince’s Trust
As we have heard a great deal lately, The Prince’s Trust was founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then the Prince of Wales), to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. The Trust has helped over 950,000 young people turn their lives around and has also created 125,000 entrepreneurs and supported businesses with training and development to 395,000 people in the UK.
The Trust has a keen focus on real estate through their Built Environment, Infrastructure, and Real Estate Leadership Group. Started in 2006, this is an industry-led initiative supported by leading construction firms such as Balfour Beatty, Costain and Barratt Developments who all provide graduate and employment opportunities to young people.
The Duchy of Cornwall
The King’s passion for architecture, protecting the environment and promoting sustainability across all regions of the world has been widely documented.
Although the Duchy is a private estate established by Edward III in 1337, the King’s passion is reflected in his directing of The Duchy of Cornwall, which has made a commitment to reach net zero across its varied and diverse portfolio by the early 2030’s. This commitment extends across farming - the Duchy has joined forces with the Farm Carbon Toolkit, to help its tenants with testing and advice on soil health and improving carbon performance.
The Duchy owns and manages several rural estates in Cornwall, Hereford, Dartmoor and further afield. One in particular that stands out is the Poundbury Estate at Dorchester in Dorset.
This experimental and planned community is an urban extension with a design based on traditional architecture and New Urbanist philosophy. Construction commenced in 1993 and is due for completion in 2025, when it is expected to house a population of 6,000 and provide employment for over 2,000 people in over 180 businesses. The planning and designs at the development are focused on people rather than the car and the whole community has high quality architecture, materials, landscaping and features such as buried utility ducts.
In Poundbury 35% of homes are affordable housing for rent, shared ownership or discounted to open market sale. Affordable homes are integrated with private homes and built to the same high specification.
The Poundbury development has contributed more than £330million to the local economy so far and will contribute a further £500million over the next 15 years.
Related articles:
Accelerating Climate Action Through Sustainable Development Within the Built Environment
Hitting Net-Zero - How Property Investors Can Contribute to the 2025 Carbon Target
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