Poundbury facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Poundbury
Queen Mother Square, with Strathmore House (right)
Poundbury
Population	4,100
OS grid reference	SY671549
Civil parish	Dorchester
Unitary authority	Dorset
Ceremonial county	Dorset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DORCHESTER
Postcode district	DT1
Dialling code	01305

Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset
Ambulance	South Western

EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	West Dorset
List of places UK England Dorset 50°42′47″N 2°27′58″W / 50.713°N 2.466°W / 50.713; -2.466

Poundbury is a unique new town built on the edge of Dorchester in Dorset, England. It's a special project led by the Duchy of Cornwall, which is a private estate belonging to the British royal family. King Charles III, when he was Prince of Wales, was very interested in its design.

The town's design is based on old-fashioned architecture and a planning idea called New Urbanism. This means it tries to create a community where people can live, work, and shop all in one place. In 2021, about 4,100 people lived in Poundbury. The town was expected to be finished in 2025 and house around 6,000 people. Many businesses and jobs are part of its development.

Poundbury has been praised for its traditional look and for being built for people, not just cars. However, it hasn't completely stopped people from using cars as much as planned. Still, a report in 2022 said Poundbury was good for walking and public transport compared to other new developments.

Why Poundbury Was Built
- Designing for People
- Green Living and Traditional Style
How Poundbury Started
- Royal Visits and Special Buildings
Jobs and Businesses
Schools in Poundbury
Who Lives in Poundbury
Places to Visit and See
Local Government
Images for kids
See also

Why Poundbury Was Built

Poundbury was created following the ideas of Charles III. He believed that many modern towns built after World War II were too spread out and didn't feel like real communities. Since construction started in 1993, Poundbury has received both good and bad comments from architects and design experts.

Designing for People

The town is built to be quite dense, meaning homes, shops, and businesses are close together. It aims to mix private homes with social housing (affordable homes) so that different kinds of people live side-by-side. There are no separate zones for just homes or just shops; everything is mixed.

The planners wanted to design a place where people could easily walk around. They also aimed to make it a high-quality and beautiful place to live. To avoid constant digging up roads, all the pipes and cables for things like water and electricity are hidden in special tunnels underground. A management company, which all residents are part of, looks after the shared areas.

Green Living and Traditional Style

Poundbury is designed to be a sustainable development, which means it tries to be good for the environment. It includes a lot of affordable housing. The project is similar to the New Urbanism movement, which focuses on creating walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods.

The town's center has a classic architectural style, while the outer areas look more like traditional local buildings. You can see old-fashioned details like iron fences, grand entrances (called porticos), and public squares with gravel. Some windows are "bricked-up" or "blind" windows, which were traditionally used for decoration, not because of old taxes.

How Poundbury Started

Poundbury seen from Maiden Castle in 2006

In 1987, the land where Poundbury now stands was chosen as a good place to expand Dorchester. King Charles III, who was then Prince of Wales, was very interested in how towns are designed. He was even writing a book about his ideas on architecture.

The Duchy of Cornwall saw this as a chance to put his ideas into action. Instead of selling the land to a regular house builder, they decided to lead the planning themselves. They hired a famous architect named Léon Krier in 1988 to design the new town.

Construction began in 1993. The town was expected to be completed around 2025, with the north-west part being the last to be built. The plan was for about 5,800 people to live there once it was finished.

Royal Visits and Special Buildings

A businessman named Andrew Brownsword helped pay for the market hall in Poundbury. This building was designed by John Simpson and looks like old market halls, especially one in Tetbury.

In June 2023, King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited Poundbury for the first time since their coronation. During their visit, they unveiled special bronze statues of themselves in Queen Mother Square. They also opened the Duke of Edinburgh Garden and unveiled a statue of the King's father, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Jobs and Businesses

Butter Cross bakery

A study in 2010 found that Poundbury added about £13 million to the local economy each year. This was expected to grow to £20 million by 2025. More than 2,000 residents worked in about 180 local businesses. By 2017, the number of businesses grew to 185, providing over 2,300 jobs.

Businesses in Poundbury include a Waitrose supermarket, a company that makes parts for airplane wings, and a chocolate factory. For a while, Dorset Cereals had a factory there, employing over 100 people, but they moved their production to Poole in 2019. In 2018, there was still space for about 80 more businesses to open.

Schools in Poundbury

Poundbury has two primary schools nearby: The Prince of Wales School and Damers First School. Damers First School was already in Dorchester, but in 2017, it moved into a new building specially built in Poundbury.

Who Lives in Poundbury

The 2021 census showed that 4,100 people lived in Poundbury. Most of the people (89.5%) were born in the United Kingdom. The rest (10.5%) were born outside the UK.

In terms of ethnic background in 2021, most residents (93.7%) were White (either White British or White Other). The rest included people of Asian (2.4%), Black (0.9%), and Mixed or multiple ethnic groups (2.6%) backgrounds, with 0.4% from other ethnic groups.

Places to Visit and See

Queen Mother Square

Because Poundbury looks so different and has a special plan, many architects, government officials, and builders from all over the world come to visit it.

Queen Mother Square is a central spot with interesting places around it. Strathmore House is one of these, named after King Charles' grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. In 2016, Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, unveiled a statue of the Queen Mother in the square. Also in 2016, a pub called the Duchess of Cornwall Inn opened, named after Queen Camilla.

Every August, the Dorset Food & Arts Festival takes place in Queen Mother Square. Thousands of people come to enjoy local food and art, and the festival also raises money for charities.

In 2018, the Prince of Wales officially opened Poundbury's first church, the Dorchester Community Church. In May 2022, he also opened a large play area in Poundbury's biggest park, the Great Field. The Great Field is now looked after by Dorchester Town Council.

Local Government

Poundbury has two levels of local government. It's part of the Dorchester civil parish, and above that is the Dorset unitary authority. The Dorchester Poundbury ward elects one person to the Dorset Council. It also elects four of the 20 members for Dorchester's town council.

For national elections to the House of Commons, Poundbury is part of the West Dorset constituency. The person who represents this area in Parliament is currently Edward Morello from the Liberal Democrats party.