King Charles embroiled in rural planning row over scheme to build 2,500 homes in 'urban mess'

 

King Charles embroiled in rural planning row over scheme to build 2,500 homes in 'urban mess'

 

King Charles proposed plans to build the 2,500 homes on farmland near Faversham, Kent, but these schemes have upset locals who fear historic villages will be "swallowed up"

 

ByBradley Jolly News Reporter

08:25, 7 Apr 2024

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/king-charles-embroiled-rural-planning-32529435

 

|Plans proposed by King Charles to build 2,500 homes on farmland near an historic market town have been blasted by locals.

 

Residents in and near Faversham, Kent, say the schemes "will swallow up historic villages" and turn the town into "an urban mess". The plans, which were first announced when the King, as the then Duke of Cornwall, managed the Duchy in 2018, seek to build 120 homes each year across a 20-year period.

 

An application for consent for an initial 261 homes was submitted to the local council in December last year, sparking outrage among locals who argue the town does not have the infrastructure support such a development. Some locals have claimed the proposals will negatively impact the local environment and contradict the monarch's love for the natural world, while others say it will increase traffic and air pollution.

 

The houses are earmarked for a plot of land, which was acquired by the Duchy in 1999. The proposals have been put forward to address the housing crisis and will deliver an "ideal town" in line with a similar urban development in Poundbury, Dorset.

 

According to a website for the development, it will deliver "affordable homes designed and built to the same high-quality standards, indistinguishable from market homes". The website adds: "South East Faversham will be an attractive, modern and enjoyable place in which people can live, work, shop and relax. It will be guided by local needs and inspired by the character of Faversham."

 

Food stores, independent retailers, craftmakers and producers will also occupy units at the development, it is believed. The website adds: "There will be a new primary school and options are being explored for a care home and potentially a range of health related facilities."

 

Speaking out against the plans, one resident wrote: "Do you really want it to be ‘on your watch’ that all our historic villages are swallowed up into one urban mass, and so much vital agricultural land will be lost forever?"

 

Another said: "The Duchy proposes such a development with the consequential loss of a huge area of fine productive agricultural land. This seems totally at odds with HRH's public stance on environmental and farming issues."

 

A third added: "I always thought the Duchy cared about the environment and green spaces, seems I was wrong. They also can't (or won't) maintain the houses they already have."

 

A further resident resident wrote on a Facebook campaign group: "It seems there's no end to the greed of Prince William and King Charles!! It's a disgrace that they pose as environmentalists when in fact they're like all developers and it's purely about the money! And what about food security?? All this Grade 1 and 2 farmland being concreted over."

 

The Duchy of Cornwall, who have put forward the plans, is a private estate established by Edward III in 1337, The Telegraph reports. Prince William, who is the Prince of Wales, now controls the estate and its £345million property portfolio - which includes 128,000 acres of land - after inheriting it from his father, King Charles III when he made made King.

 

A spokesman for the Duchy of Cornwall said: 'South-east Faversham will, if planning permission is granted, follow in the footsteps of Poundbury, Nansledan and other sustainable Duchy developments and become one of the most environmentally friendly neighbourhoods in the United Kingdom.

 

'It will prioritise access to green spaces, sustainable transport and will focus on the community's needs – including affordable housing and a new primary school as well as new traffic infrastructure and healthcare services.

 

'New green spaces including meadows, orchards, allotments and woodland means biodiversity is set to increase by 20 per cent while a focus on sustainable travel and building a walkable neighbourhood is expected to generate 20 per cent fewer car trips compared to similar-sized communities.'