The Prince of Wales this week called for the property industry to put sustainability into practice instead of just talking about doing it.
He said: “Sustainability means nothing if all people do is talk about it and expect business as usual with a little sustainable brass knob. I’m going for bigger brass knobs.”
Prince Charles made the comments while hosting a visit to Poundbury by property figures including Laurance Racke, chairman of Yorklake Homes, Geoffrey Springer, development director at London & Regional (both pictured), Berkeley Homes managing director Peter Nesbitt and Argent Group co-founder Peter Freeman.
The prince had asked charity World Jewish Relief, of which he is a supporter, to organise the visit by developers.
The prince told the visitors: “If you use the conventional mould, you’ll only really be able to produce a housing estate.
“If you’re talking about sustainable development, you have to think about the long term. So many of our financial structures are short term.”
Land tax paralysis risk
The Prince of Wales’ development director Andrew Hamilton said that plans to introduce a development land tax, as reported in EG (2 October, p39), would “paralyse the market”.
He said the proposed levy would run the risk of reducing development while the market waited for the next government to abolish the tax.
Hamilton also warned against changing the planning gain system: “Section 106 has its faults, but it does produce benefits that are site specific.”
A Jewish welfare and community centre, backed by Prince Charles, is awaiting planning consent in Krakow.
The design of the four-storey 9,430 sq ft centre by local architect IMB Asymetria has been approved by the prince who is the centre’s patron.
The prince asked World Jewish Relief, chaired by Nigel Layton, to carry out the project after a visit to Poland, and it has provided the seed capital.
References: EGi News 15/11/04
