In 1993, King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, kicked off a major development project: Poundbury, an experimental urban town constructed by the Duchy.
Writing on the Duchy of Cornwall website, he said: "When I set out on this venture, I was determined that Poundbury would break the mould of conventional housing development in this country.
"Many people said that it could never succeed, but I am happy to say that the sceptics were wrong," he concluded.
However, not all of the experts are convinced – Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud, the architecture expert who has earned his living as a designer, author and TV host since studying architecture and the history of art, explained his issues with the development in a keynote lecture at the V&A Museum in November 2025.
Kevin McCloud issued his verdict on Poundbury
In his speech, which was called 'Reinventing Buildings: A Manifesto For The Imagination', he spoke about the estate, saying: "I've been to Poundbury quite a lot, and there are some very fine built Georgian houses with lime mortar joints, very correct, rubbed detailing and proper section glazing bars, lamb’s tongue, whatever.
"And it’s all great," he continued. "But you go inside these buildings, and they’re dead because they’re built of breeze block."He criticised some of the "design conditions around the scheme", adding: "I went inside a beautiful thatched cottage in Poundbury to visit a couple, and they weren't allowed to stick a conservatory on the back or a sunroom or anything."
The architecture expert described the interiors as "horrible because it was like walking into a modern developer home, only the ceilings you banged your head on".
He continued: "It was intolerable as an environment to put people in, I thought from the experience of the architecture internally. Of course, there are buildings there which are very high-status, and they're the ones that you get shown around but I think there are other less comfortable aspects to it.
"I have every respect for His Majesty's tastes and views being the King," Kevin concluded. "Obviously, his taste arrogates itself about mine or anybody else's, right? So that we understand. I think, as a social experiment, as an architectural experiment, great, interesting. But no, not for me."
What is Poundbury?
The experimental urban town is constructed by the Duchy of Cornwall, one of the largest and oldest landed estates in Britain, which was created in 1337 by Edward III to support his son and heir, Prince Edward.
King Charles spearheaded the project, wanting the homes to be integrated with shops and business to create a thriving community. However, as Prince William is the current Duke of Cornwall, it is now his estate.
At the end of October, Prince William found himself caught up in a new planning permission conflict with the neighbours, when nearby homeowners "strongly objected" to trees planted in the area on behalf of the Duchy.