Sir, Your report (“Prince’s charity and the builders blazing a Highlands trail”, Nov 4) suggests that it is somehow irresponsible for The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment to work with private housebuilders to demonstrate new models for sustainable communities.

We feel strongly that the reverse is true: that The Prince’s Foundation, whose charitable objective is the improvement of the built environment, would be remiss if we ignored the fact that most new development in the UK is delivered by the private sector. In working with private developers as well as with public authorities we are careful to disclose the sources of our funding, maintain our independent judgment and insist that they work to our principles through a master planning process that engages the community from the outset. The Prince’s Foundation lives in a real world so we must raise funds from the public and we charge fees for our courses and consultancy work, but funders do not call the tune.

Growth is inevitable in attractive communities such as those in the Scottish Highlands and Deeside, and without long-range thinking the result will be haphazard housing estates that neither provide amenitites nor respond to government policy and scientific evidence calling for denser, more compact and mixed neighbourhoods.

Many people oppose new development because they believe, with good evidence, that most development in the past 50 years has worsened quality of life in our towns and villages. In challenging private housebuilders to change their practices and engage early and often with residents, the foundation is already demonstrating that more sustainable development can both enhance our quality of life and meet needs for housing affordability and economic vitality.

Vivien Hepworth
Trustee, The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment

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