Prince´s vision spurs new Cornwall coastal village

NEWQUAY, United Kingdom: In his long wait to become Britain´s king, Prince Charles has pursued his passion for architecture. His latest brainchild is a new neighbourhood in a deprived area of Cornwall in England´s southwestern corner.

"Nansledan" ("Broad Valley" in Cornish) is an extension of the seaside resort of Newquay, popular with surfers and young revellers, and aims to provide environmentally friendly housing and give a shot in the arm to the former mining region´s economy.

"We are looking to create a viable community... we will be building a school, we´re building a church, offices, shops," said Alastair Martin, from The Duchy of Cornwall, the prince´s estate.

With an architectural focus on combining tradition and modernity, the new one- and two-storey houses line neat streets with Cornish names.

The homes´ stone and pastel-hued facades as well as the slate roofs are a deliberate effort to help blend the homes in with the area´s older buildings.

Unlike many suburbs where the car is king and everything is a drive away, Nansledan has its own amenities and is a short walk to the shore and town centre.

Developers hope the project will regenerate and diversify Newquay´s economy, which currently relies on tourism and low-paid seasonal jobs.

Some 137 houses have already gone up since construction began on part of the prince´s vast landholdings in 2014.

In total, some 4,000 dwellings will be built over 40 years on the 218-hectare (538-acre) plot, which belongs to the Duchy.

"For a town of only 20,000 people that´s quite a lot," said town councillor Louis Gardner.

Nansledan is not Charles´s first attempt at a planned community.

The project is based on the principles that Charles already established in Poundbury, an experimental new town in Dorchester, southern England, in the early 1990s.

Economically, the goal is to create a job per household through the offices, businesses or services that the new development will attract, and 30 percent of the homes will be social housing, or cheaper than the market rate, and indistinguishable from the other homes.

It is hoped the project will give local people a chance of getting on the housing ladder, a task made ever more difficult by the proliferation of second homes, accused of driving up local house prices.