Charles’ eco village plan is rocked by a new crisis
Builder quits Prince’s community project over lack of progress
WHEN Prince Charles unveiled the blueprint for his model Scottish village he hoped buyers would queue up to reserve a plot.
But half a decade on, it appears the royal dream for Knockroon has turned into a royal nightmare.
Poor market conditions mean only 31 homes have been completed on the site on the outskirts of the former mining village of Cumnock, Ayrshire.
Now, in another blow to the Prince’s pet project, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the developer has quit.
Housebuilder Hope Homes walked away at the end of last month after reportedly becoming ‘frustrated’ at the lack of progress.
All future work at Knockroon will now be carried out ‘in-house’ by the newly formed Dumfries House Development and Training Company (DHDTC), using apprentices who will have to be trained.
The Prince had grand plans to create a sustainable ‘eco community’ of 770 homes, combining 21st-Century environmentalism with old-fashioned architecture.
The initial blueprint for the site on Dumfries House Estate envisaged up to 250 homes being built by 2017, up to 330 homes by 2025 and the rest within the following decade.
Yet as the project approaches the first milestone, a fraction of the proposed number of properties have been completed and asking prices had to be dropped in a bid to attract buyers to an area that has some of Britain’s cheapest house prices.
Earlier this year the MoS reported that building work at the site had stalled and a number of properties had been ‘bought back’ by The Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation (PWCF) to house estate staff.
The Foundation issued reassurances that the development was ‘continuing as planned’.
However, Hope Homes’ sudden, unexpected departure has prompted fresh concerns the ambitious project could now be mothballed.
Large ‘for sale’ signs can be seen on Hope Homes’ on-site production and storage workshop and the Knockroon website, which included architects’ drawings of the finished community, has been taken down.
Knockroon was intended to bring in millions of pounds and help repay debts incurred in 2007 when the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation stepped in to rescue Dumfries House. The rescue of the mansion cost £45 million.
If Knockroon turns out to be a commercial flop, it could cut the cash available for charities that benefit from the foundation.
A Dumfries House spokesman said the ‘restructuring’ would ‘simplify and streamline the ownership and oversight of the project’ but was unable to provide a timescale for when the next work would start.
A source close to the project said Hope Homes bosses were frustrated by how ‘slowly’ the development was progressing
‘Hope Homes had wanted things on site to accelerate faster than they were,’ the source said.
‘The market has been slower than anyone expected. There were big expectations at the beginning for Knockroon but that was scaled back and there wasn’t anything immediate for Hope’s builders to do.’
Hope Homes director Ian Hope said: ‘The success of creating a sustainable community, using traditional architecture and building techniques, is testament to the inspiration of the Prince of Wales and we are delighted to have been instrumental in realising this vision.’
Dumfries House denied the proposed timescale or size of the completed development had changed.
However a spokesman confirmed the original Knockroon ‘masterplan’
‘Hope Homes wanted things to accelerate’ ‘Wasn’t anything for builders to do’
would now be reviewed by the new team ‘to establish how to proceed and continue to incorporate local skills training, apprenticeships and traditional manufacturing into the next phase of building’.
The spokesman added: ‘PWCF will be transferring the ownership of the land at Knockroon to Dumfries House Trust by way of a grant.
‘The next phase of the project will now be delivered by a new company established under the Dumfries House Trust, called the Dumfries House Development and Training Company (DHDTC).
‘DHDTC will build on the success of Hope Homes.’