Millions of Brits will head to street parties to mark King Charles’s coronation – but what better place to do it than on the streets he has moulded with his own hands?
Poundbury is King Charles’s pet project. Located on Duchy of Cornwall land just west of Dorchester in Dorset, the monarch has spent more than three decades carving out his vision of what Britain should look like across its 400 acres.
A model village designed to show how building development can enhance the English countryside, to “break the mould of conventional housing development”, as the King put it, he has been overseeing Poundbury’s development since 1993.
Originally laid out by architect Léon Krier, the project is due to be completed in 2027, with 2,700 homes built, meaning one for every job in the area.
To some detractors Poundbury is a sort of “feudal Disneyland”, a prince’s plaything existing outside the realms of reality. But Poundbury’s unique royal origins make it a place of intrigue and curiosity in the context of the long-running housing crisis.
Françoise Ha is one of around 4,500 people living there and is chair of the Poundbury Residents Association. Ahead of King Charles’s Coronation, she is busy.
“It’s interesting seeing which countries are interested,” Ha tells The Big Issue. “Certain countries like France are very interested, Canada, the Dutch, America as well.
“I don’t think people are particularly royalist or republican here. I think we’re here because it’s a beautiful place to
