King Charles faces backlash from Kent residents over plans to build ‘ideal town’

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The King’s plan to construct an “preferrred city” in Kent has sparked outrage amid accusations of “swallowing up historic villages into one city mass”.

The Duchy of Cornwall has proposed to construct 2,500 properties on 320 acres of agricultural land within the medieval market city of Faversham, Kent.

The plan was introduced when Charles, then the Prince of Wales, managed the property in 2018, with the goals of delivering the “most sustainable” properties attainable, whereas concurrently combatting a housing disaster within the space.

Nonetheless, native residents have warned the event – which is about to ship an “preferrred city” much like the Duchy’s first “city extension” in Poundbury – is “completely at odds” with the monarch’s stance on environmental and farming points, and couldn’t be supported by the city’s infrastructure.

The robust opposition has been aired in a public session following the submission in December of an utility for consent to start out work on the preliminary 261 properties, with 120 properties set to be constructed per yr throughout 20 years.

The event web site says the plot, which was acquired by the Duchy in 1999 and is positioned to the southeast of Faversham, can have “inexpensive properties designed and constructed to the identical high-quality requirements, indistinguishable from market properties”.

There may be set to be house for “meals shops and unbiased retailers, craftmakers and producers” in addition to a brand new excessive avenue and first faculty. “Choices are being explored for a care dwelling and probably a spread of health-related services.”

It provides: “South East Faversham can be a pretty, fashionable and pleasant place by which folks can stay, work, store and loosen up. It is going to be guided by native wants and impressed by the character of Faversham.”

After the plans have been put out for public session with Swale Borough Council, The Telegraph reported one complainant mentioned final week: “The Duchy proposes such a improvement with the consequential lack of an enormous space of superb productive agricultural land. This appears completely at odds with HRH’s public stance on environmental and farming points.”

Voicing their grievances in a social media marketing campaign group, one other native mentioned: “It appears there’s no finish to the greed of Prince William and King Charles!! It’s a shame that they pose as environmentalists when in actual fact they’re like all builders and it’s purely concerning the cash! And what about meals safety?? All this Grade 1 and a pair of farmland being concreted over.”

A 3rd resident added: “My household are very proud Third-generation Duchy farmers they usually really feel ashamed and betrayed. No honour, simply greed. We have been hoping the Royals have been perhaps oblivious to all of it, with good intentions, nevertheless it’s all a gloss.”

Another mentioned: “Do you actually need it to be ‘in your watch’ that each one our historic villages are swallowed up into one city mass, and a lot important agricultural land can be misplaced without end?”

A spokesperson for the Duchy of Cornwall advised The Unbiased: “South East Faversham will, if planning permission is granted, comply with within the footsteps of Poundbury, Nansledan and different sustainable Duchy developments and change into one of the environmentally pleasant neighbourhoods in the UK.

“It is going to prioritise entry to inexperienced areas, sustainable transport and can concentrate on the neighborhood’s wants – together with inexpensive housing and a brand new major faculty in addition to new visitors infrastructure and healthcare providers.

“New inexperienced areas together with meadows, orchards, allotments and woodland means biodiversity is about to extend by 20 per cent whereas a concentrate on sustainable journey and constructing a walkable neighbourhood is anticipated to generate 20 per cent fewer automotive journeys in comparison with similar-sized communities.”

The Duchy added that a minimum of 400 properties can be social hire and linked to native incomes, and an extra 475 market properties can be discounted for first-time consumers and shared possession properties, with inexpensive housing for native folks and key staff prioritised.