Poundbury contributed over £330m to the Dorchester economy

An Economic Impact Assessment completed by Dorset County Council has concluded that the Poundbury development has already contributed over £330million in demand for goods and services to the local economy and will contribute a further £500million by 2025.

Poundbury is an urban extension to the Dorset county town of Dorchester, built on Duchy of Cornwall land, according to timeless principles of architecture and urban planning as advocated by HRH The Prince of Wales. It is currently home to 1,500 people in different types of housing, including social housing, as well as providing employment for some 1,000 people.

The report estimates that the construction activity that has taken place in Poundbury since 1993, when the development began, has created the equivalent of 1,877 person-years in employment and 1,049 business-years of work for firms including the self-employed. These figures will grow over the next 15 years as the development is completed.

The assessment indicates that when Poundbury is completed it will be supporting over 430 new full-time equivalent jobs and 121 new businesses in the local area on a long-term basis. This means a contribution of around £40million per annum in increased demand for local goods and services and a net equivalent of about £20million per annum added to the local economy.

Simon Conibear, Poundbury Development Manager said:  “We have always been aware that Poundbury has been a major source of employment and economic activity, for Dorchester particularly, but it is interesting to have this quantified. The important thing is the legacy we leave, and it is encouraging that even after construction activity ceases in 15 years time, there will be a continuing major economic benefit to the Dorset sub-region.”

Anne Gray of Dorset County Council said:  “Poundbury has already had a positive economic impact and there is more to come. A long-lived project such as this is really important to the area both throughout the construction phase and in terms of the permanent impacts which will be felt in the sub-region.”

Notes to Editors

Poundbury is based on some of the timeless principles that have enabled many places around Britain to endure and thrive over the centuries. It is a high density urban quarter of Dorchester which gives priority to people, rather than cars, and where commercial buildings are mixed with residential areas, shops and leisure facilities to create a walkable community. The result is an attractive and pleasing place, in keeping with the character of Dorchester, in which people live, work, shop and play.

Over the course of the development, Poundbury is expected to increase the population of Dorchester by about one-quarter, by approximately 5000 people. By early 2010, there were 931 completed dwellings, with more than 25 per cent affordable housing, and a population of around 1,820 . More than 1,100 people were employed in businesses located at Poundbury. Poundbury is now more than a third built with plans for 2,466 homes by 2025.

Poundbury has proved increasingly influential, attracting international interest and generating hundreds of organised tours every year from architects, town planners and others. The success of Poundbury has now been recognised far beyond Dorset and many of the principles have been incorporated into the Government’s Planning Guidance Note (PPG3). Poundbury was also highlighted as an exemplar in “Living Working Countryside. The Taylor Review of Rural Economy and Affordable Housing” a report by Matthew Taylor MP, published in July 2008 and commissioned by the Government.