The village was built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, and is an experiment of the ideas of Prince Charles, who wished to challenge the post-war trends in town planning. The Prince is known for holding strong views on planning and architecture.
The village is built to a 'traditional' high-density urban pattern, rather than a suburban one, focused on creating an integrated community of shops, businesses, and a mixture of private and social housing; there is no zoning. It's also planned around the people rather than the car. Close attention has been paid to providing a high quality environment, from architecture, through the selection of materials, to the signposts and landscaping. Common areas of the town are maintained by a management company to which all residents belong.
The overall plan was developed by architect Leon Krier in the late 1980s, and construction started in October 1993. It is expected that the four phases will be developed over 25 years.
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