Environment Minister Sammy Wilson visited the groundbreaking village of Poundbury - an extension to the town of Dorchester.
Poundbury, which draws on traditional architectural designs, was the brainchild of Prince Charles in the mid-1990s and is now home to around 5,000 people.
After meeting local residents and trustees, the minister said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit Poundbury and see this excellent example of a community built around the successful integration of industry and housing.
“The public spaces, use of local building styles and mixed use neighbourhoods have provided Poundbury's residents with a high quality urban environment.
“It is a very relevant example for Northern Ireland as we attempt to expand our cities and towns in a sustainable way and the results from Poundbury have direct relevance for us.”
Poundbury was developed by The Prince to a masterplan by the international architect and planner Leon Kreir. The village reflects the Prince’s beliefs on planning and architecture.
It is an urban area closely modelled upon a traditional European town, with industry, different types of residential accommodation and good local services and facilities, all close to each other.
Private traffic is carefully controlled. The village is also a good example of sustainable development with high-density housing, use of local materials, low car use and ‘eco housing’.
The minister was given a tour of the site by The Prince. He also met local residents and Trustees of The Prince’s organisations.
Notes to Editors:
- Poundbury is the urban extension to Dorchester in Dorset and is famous internationally as a pioneering example of urban development. It seeks to implement the principles expounded in The Prince of Wales’s 1989 book ‘A Vision of Britain’. The village is the result of The Prince’s belief in town-planning coupled with a long period of public consultation between 1988 and 1993.
- In 1988, The Prince appointed the architect and urban planner, Leon Krier, to prepare the overall development concept for 160 hectares, within the line of the Dorchester Bypass – comprising 100 hectares of mixed-use buildings and 60 hectares of landscaping. Krier is well known in Europe and America as a champion of traditional urban design. His challenge was to create a self-contained new extension to the town, in harmony with traditional Dorset architecture. His masterplan divides Poundbury into four distinctive quarters. For development purposes, each quarter corresponds to a Phase. Construction of Phase 1 of Poundbury commenced in October 1993 and was completed in 2002.
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