Property in Poundbury
Poundbury was designed to create a sustainable community which achieves an attractive, modern and pleasing place in which people can live, work, shop and play. Particular emphasis is placed on the quality of place making through time honoured principles, urban design, landscaping and the selection of materials.
The architects working at Poundbury, several of whom are based in Dorset, adhere to the building code which promotes the use of traditional materials and regulates building form and street scenes. The Duchy’s Poundbury team work closely with the developers to control design and build quality. The relationship is upheld through legally-binding Building Agreements with each developer before the freehold is received.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
One of the innovative ideas championed by His Majesty King Charles, as The Prince of Wales, in ‘A Vision of Britain’ in 1989, was to integrate private and affordable housing alongside one another to encourage vibrant and diverse communities.
In Poundbury 35% of homes being built are affordable housing for rent, shared ownership or discounted sales.
Affordable homes are integrated with private homes and built to the same high specification which makes Poundbury “tenure blind”. This helps social cohesion and creates a well balanced, mixed income community.
The Duchy continues to explore innovative ways in which the local housing need can be met. Housing providers report that Poundbury has the lowest rate of rent arrears and void rates.
According to The Guinness Partnership – which provides much of the affordable housing – Poundbury is its most successful and trouble-free site with residents reporting a higher level of satisfaction than elsewhere. The partnership has used principles learnt in Poundbury across the UK. In 2019 the partnership completed its 272nd home in Poundbury.
The Duchy has been pioneering Discount to Open Market Homes with ZeroC in Poundbury. This allows first time buyers to purchase properties with a 25-30% discount. The buyer retains 100% ownership of the property but must sell the home with the same discount. The difference between this and other Government schemes is that the homes will remain discounted in perpetuity to benefit future first time buyers. To be eligible for the scheme applicants must be on the Dorset Council’s Housing List and have a combined income below £60,000 per annum.