please empty your brain below
I doubt if the was a Poundland at Poundbury?

Nick | 27.05.15 - 7:25 a.m. | #

Is there more than a hint of similarity between Poundbury and Thames Town, the little England tribute suburb of Shanghai?

Marc | 27.05.15 - 7:36 a.m. | #

I like the caption to the picture of the flower. Hardy Perennial - very good.

Pedantic of Purley | 27.05.15 - 8:41 a.m. | #

What strikes me in the photos is the lack of yellow lines on the roads, and the lack of parked cars...

Joho | 27.05.15 - 9:17 a.m. | #

Yes, I'm not a fan of Charles' architectural tastes, but high density has to be the way forward. The fact that the place is cluttered with cars is probably inevitable given it's location (rural/ England). On which note, you must've walked miles. I'm assuming you did all this in one day including Hardy's cottage and Maiden Castle.

Thanks.

Lorenzo | 27.05.15 - 9:24 a.m. | #

Interesting looking place. You know, considering the Green credentials this place is supposed to have - they don't let you hang out your washing to dry!

From the look of the buildings this doesn't appear to be because the haven't back yards/gardens.

Bronchitikat | Homepage | 27.05.15 - 11:16 a.m. | #

I've been to Poundbury and I did like it. It's smaller streets and lanes were the most successful. The reason for the relative lack of cars on most streets is that most parking occurs in courtyards at the back of properties.

All properties do have Gardens but they are not very large.

My only criticism of the design is that the retail is too scattered throughout the development. At the end of the day the entire development is not that large they should have had a larger town centre and then shops could have benefited from clustering together.

Rational Plan | 27.05.15 - 12:56 p.m. | #

Reminds me of a set from an Avengers episode - cleared of pedestrians so Steed and Emma Peel can deal with some nasty bad guys...

Andy | 27.05.15 - 1:53 p.m. | #

Makes me think of Stepford Wives and not in a good way

Mart | 27.05.15 - 2:53 p.m. | #

I thought that new arch they've erected by the garden centre is a bit bonkers when I saw it a few weeks ago. It looks like it should have an interred unknown soldier under it, not just be tucked away on the side of what is (at the moment at least) the only car park in town.

Jon | 27.05.15 - 5:10 p.m. | #

where are the people ?

Caroline | 27.05.15 - 7:17 p.m. | #

I have friends who lived there until a couple of months ago. There's a market on wednesdays where pizza is sold, and apparently it is quite good. They were renting a newish 2-bed flat, which was very spacious and on a nice corner plot with a large window looking out toward a side of the square. I liked it…it was a little quiet, but i think it shows promise.

there's the lovely chocolate factory down the road too that sells cheap off-cuts. they had some, and it's so more-ish!

http://www.jenikya.com/blog

jenn | Homepage | 27.05.15 - 7:40 p.m. | #

I'm from Dorchester, and I visit every few months. I'm always interested to see what new parts of Poundbury have appeared since the last time.

There are clearly some community groups that have developed (judging by the notices outside the village hall), and enough customers to keep all (... most) of those artisan shops going. But it does all seem eerily quiet. This is usually during a weekend, so perhaps it is more active on a weekday. Or maybe the residents prefer to go to central Dorchester, which is (a bit) more lively now than it was growing up in the 80s and 90s. Or maybe my perceptions influenced by the lack of traffic noise.

I think that this is more an extension to an existing town, albeit with more services and community facilities than a standard housing estate. I understood that the original aim was a self-contained community within which people would live, work and socialise, like an Italian hill village, and, if so, this has not really worked out.

However, I do appreciate the motivation to try something different, even if the architecture is not to my taste, and the good intentions to mix social housing with private residences. I'd agree there is more success than failure, and it will be interesting to see how it works out when some of the remaining grand sections are completed.

James | 27.05.15 - 7:48 p.m. | #

We went to Poundbury for the day. I had been looking forward to seeing it for a decade. But as you walk around the place it's very disconcerting. Everything is perfect, nothing out of place almost sterile. Everyone greets you in the same manner a cross between politeness and indifference. Even the communal dog walking area the mutts were perfect. The film Village of the Damned came to mind.

David Styles | Homepage | 28.05.15 - 9:47 a.m. | #

...or the Truman Show. Poundbury does feel like a highly detailed film set, with strangely artificial shops that look like fronts for more exciting activities, comparatively little traffic and not many people, as if they can't afford the extras. It's interesting to hear from people who've actually lived there, who presumably don't walk round being directed through earpieces by some all-seeing princely figure - er, hang on a minute!

ActonMan | 29.05.15 - 11:18 a.m. | #











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