The Queen and the Prince of Wales have joined the race to be part of the government's controversial ecotown scheme, with the crown estate acting as partner in a consortium that hopes to built a town of 5,000 houses near Nottingham. Prince Charles's Foundation for the Built Environment has been asked to advise on the scheme's design and to try to ensure community involvement from the outset for the project. The prince has been personally involved in the development of "more sustainable" communities. He set up the Poundbury development on Duchy of Cornwall land in Dorset a decade ago and is now helping develop a town with homes for 12,000 people at Sherford, near Plymouth, and a 4,000-home ecovillage near Neath, Wales. His foundation has also advised government bodies developing "urban extensions" to existing towns. The crown...
[read full story]