Prince Charles is my kind of developer
I read in the Sunday Telegraph today that Prince Charles is planning to raise £1 billion to fund sustainable property developments. The poor quality of so much development in this country is a minor obsession of mine. I am constantly harassing the two major developers planning to build in my constituency on their plans. I have toured Dartford with Wayne Hemingway’s wife to see how they have curbed some Wimpey’s excesses, and met other enlightened developers as well. And of course I have visited Poundbury, the Prince’s model estate. It gets a huge amount of criticism, because so many of the houses are pastiche of eighteenth or nineteenth century buildings. That is a matter of taste, and I will keep my counsel on that. But the real key to understanding Pounbury is the lay out. It works on a human scale, is carefully laid out to slow traffic naturally without hideous road signs or chicanes, they have refused to kow tow to the highways agency (they stuck in a fountain instead of a roundabout for example) and it works, as a place to live and work. If he does other projects like this, I am all for it.
canvas said on June 29th, 2008 at 9:43 pm:
It’s all about infrastructure…
or lack of…
taste is a personal matter…but wimpey is crap by most standards.
and what happened in Milton Keynes? They forgot to plan for the corner shop and pubs. doh.
canvas said on July 14th, 2008 at 3:54 pm:
Ed, are you going to be the new Shadow Environment Secretary? Best of luck if you are.
However, please have a word with DC about Eric Pickles! Please NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Keep Pickles up north, PLEASE! David Cameron recently preached to us about not being afraid to judge people - about discussing right from wrong…
Well, it is WRONG to bring FAT OLD Eric Pickles into the limelight. This is the 21st century! Not the 80s.
Just say NO - please please let that man stay up north!
:)
Votedave said on July 15th, 2008 at 8:21 pm:
I’m feeling sorry for Caroline Spelman, who is under pressure to be removed from her job as Party Chairman. Innocent until proven guilty I say.
The Conservatives under David Cameron being 22% ahead in the opinion polls indicates to me that the controversy surrounding her isn’t on the forefront of the voters’s minds - more likely it’s the credit crunch, high fuel and food prices, etc.
On a personal note I’m having to go back to my old, less well-paid job soon due to the fact our client is ceasing to trade next month.
Sue said on July 15th, 2008 at 8:33 pm:
Hi Votedave, I’m sorry you’re losing your job, but glad for you that you at least have another one to go to. My husband was made redundant, along with 10 others, at the beginning of April, and we now face losing our home - the home that we’ve only been back in a few weeks after the flood repairs. According to the estate agent who came to value our home, we are joining a very long list of people in the same boat. The trouble is, if we lose our home, we will have nowhere to live, literally - Ed, have you got a couple of spare rooms?
:p
Votedave said on July 15th, 2008 at 9:04 pm:
Very sorry to hear that Sue. Best wishes to you.
canvas said on July 16th, 2008 at 5:14 pm:
Hang in there VoteDave and Sue! Hope it all works out.
These things always go in cycles - but the current government doesn’t make things any easier.
Sue said on July 16th, 2008 at 6:48 pm:
Thanks Dave and Canvas
Hubby and I are looking at different options. We’re lucky that we’ve got a bit of equity in our home, and so we thought of buying a static mobile home, which we would most likely be able to buy without needing a mortgage. However, most of the residential parks (as they’re called) are for retired, or semi-retired, people, so those of us with children and pets are definitely not welcome. I think with the current economic climate, that residential parks will become more and more popular (as long as the prices don’t increase there as well!). They are a much cheaper option for home owners, and the ones I’ve looked at on the internet are very, very nice (in fact, nicer than my current home!)
So, if anyone knows of any residential parks that will take kids and a dog, and that has a 3 bed mobile home for sale, please let me know!!