Heartbreak as plants at Poundbury home are facing chop
AWOMAN who lives in Prince Charles’s model village of Poundbury near Dorchester has been told to cut back on the plants outside her home, despite them not causing an obstruction, it is claimed.
Alexandra Wilson-Jones said she is “heartbroken” after being told that her plants, which include a floral archway and various flowers, will need to be reduced before the end of January 2023, or the Duchy of Cornwall will remove them.
Alexandra, 49, received a letter from the Duchy asking her to remove her plants due to them being there without approval. Following a meeting with the Duchy, Alexandra was told that there were too many plants that looked out of place from the rest of the courtyard.
The Duchy of Cornwall says that while it welcomes moves to brighten the area, the plants are being stored in a communal courtyard “without approval” and complaints “about the large collection have been raised by local residents”.
However, Alexandra has called the situation “heartbreaking” and argues that the Duchy’s intervention goes against the Prince of Wales’ vision for Poundbury.
The village is a passion project for Prince Charles with the aim of creating new towns and cities that “would break the mould” of conventional places to live and “create an attractive place for people to live, work and play,” the prince said.
Alexandra said: “The Duchy have told me to significantly modify and reduce my planting down, and if I haven’t done it by the end of January, it will need to be removed entirely. So that puts me in a very difficult position, and it’s my responsibility.
“They’re not prepared to help me at all. They’re not offering an opportunity to provide anywhere to relocate to.
“They’re just simply saying that will be something that I would have to do myself.”
Alongside her belief that she is not receiving enough help from the Duchy to remove the plants, or consider any of her suggestions, she also claims previous proposals did not make clear to residents the rules around owning plants.
She said: “No provisions have been made in the layout of these properties to have a garden. The majority of the plants will have to go.”
Alexandra, who is retired, strongly feels that the decision to remove the plants directly goes against the vision that Prince Charles has for the village of Poundbury.
She also feels that it breaks community spirit after she received positive comments from her neighbours about her plants.
She explains: “It’s heartbreaking. For a start, it would be extremely expensive because it was expensive anyway to bring the collection here.
“But if you start reducing down gardens that are enhancing any community thinking, it’s backward thinking.
“More so than anything else, it is in complete contrast to what His Royal Highness would encourage. If he knew about this, he would intervene.”
She has also expressed that she is seemingly the only one in the area being told to remove her plants, despite her neighbours owning plants. As a result, Alexandra says she feels targeted.
A spokesman for the Duchy of Cornwall said: “We are aware of an issue where a large collection of privately owned plants are being stored in a communal courtyard without approval.
“We welcome moves to enhance the appearance and environmental diversity of courtyards, however these need to be of an appropriate scale and nature, recognising that the courtyards are designed mainly to provide pedestrian and vehicular access to homes, garages and parking bays.
“We are aware that complaints about the large collection have been raised by local residents and we will continue to work with the owner of the plants and the relevant developer to achieve a suitable outcome.”
It’s heartbreaking... If His Royal Highness knew about this, he would intervene ALEXANDRA WILSON-JONES