Prince Charles’s development director at Poundbury, Dorset, has criticised the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) for inconsistency and confusion over housing development.
Speaking after housebuilders and developers visited the new community this week, Andrew Hamilton said the government’s housing targets were unrealistic.
The latest targets include up to 720,000 new homes being built in the South East over 20 years.
“They are trying to tell us how and where to build, but I’m not convinced they’re telling us to build in the right places. And they are proposing to build them just as the property market is taking a downturn.
“Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas, and developers won’t build hundreds of thousands of new homes if there’s no demand,” he said.
The former Haslemere director has co-ordinated the development of Poundbury on 400 acres of Duchy of Cornwall land, west of Dorchester, since 1991.
So far, 800 homes have been built with businesses on site. A total of 2,200 homes are proposed over 15 years.
Hamilton criticised plans to focus growth in the South West on existing centres, such as Bournemouth, Poole and Bristol.
The development of the third and fourth phases of Poundbury are uncertain, he said, because one option being considered for the South West’s regional spatial strategy would not allow further expansion.
“You just wonder whether there is any joined-up thinking. Planning and housing minister Keith Hill came to Poundbury and said it’s wonderful, but we need to be given the means to finish off the job. Unless we build the full extent of Poundbury, we can’t provide all the extra facilities, such as leisure and schools.”
Hamilton called for greater consistency from ministers on sustainability. “Developers hate confusion. They won’t deliver the goods,” he said.
References: EGi News 12/11/04
