Inside King Charles’s posh ‘ghost town’ with £400k houses

Poundbury, built on Duchy of Cornwall land, is currently home to some 5,000 people in a mix of private and affordable housing, as well as providing employment for 2,730 people working in more than 250 shops, cafés, offices and factories. A further 200 people are employed in construction across the site and many more are self-employed and at times work from home.

The town in Dorchester, Dorset, was designed in accordance with the principles of architecture and urban planning as advocated by King Charles in his book 'A Vision of Britain'. It was named one of the best places to live in Britain by The Sunday Times last year, but it is reported to have a mixed reputation.

The Daily Mail, writes how it has recently been described as a "ghost town". A report states: "It has been described as a 'ghost town' due to the lack of foot traffic through many of the residential lanes and a 'feudal Disneyland' by detractors who have taken umbrage with the town's faux-Georgian period aesthetic."

Residents have began to complain of traffic problems in the area with one of the major roads to Dorchester cutting through the town from the A35. Last year, the same residents complained about unemptied bins, rats and even compared it to a "third world country", according to the Daily Mail.

Despite the issues though, Poundbury remains one of the most sought after locations in the UK with the average price of newbuild homes sitting at £400K. However, according to Right Move, house prices on average have an overall value of £375,772.

Poundbury was designed to focus on the community where shops, places of work, and services are all within a 10 minute walking distance. It was also built to offer a mix of uses by "integrating homes with retail and other employment uses and public areas."

Alongside homes, the town boasts infrastructure including a GP, dentist, school, and Post Office. Local businesses also include a garden centre, multiple coffee shops, a florist, a butcher, and two pubs - one of which is called the The Duchess of Cornwall in the town's Queen Mother Square.

Poundbury also has a wide range of housing types, including coach houses, terraces, industrial warehouses, mews houses, townhouses, villas and mansions.

In 2023, their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla visited Poundbury to mark the completion of Queen Mother Square and open the Duke of Edinburgh Garden.

Upon arrival, they met with civic dignitaries and developers at Queen Mother Square, where two bronze reliefs of Their Majesties themselves were unveiled by Poundbury Development Director Andrew Hamilton. The King and Queen then untied a ribbon officially opening the new Duke of Edinburgh Garden.

The King is predicted to finish building the final quadrant of his Poundbury model town in 2028. The royal started working on the project in the late 1980s, and since then, it has grown to boast around 2,320 homes, 4,600 residents and 240 businesses employing thousands of people.