In the News
Statement from Hank Dittmar, Chief Executive of The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment
8th August 2007
A number of columnists have written about The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment's work with the North Highland Initiative in Scotland to improve the siting and appearance of kit housing, sometimes called bungalows. Some columnists have suggested that the programme, launched by The Prince of Wales in Caithness last week, seeks to eliminate bungalows. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The programme is designed to address the fact that due to a shortage of affordable and attractive housing in the towns and villages of Caithness and Sutherland, people are purchasing kit houses and placing them in fields, resulting in both a loss of agricultural land and reducing the appeal of the landscape to visitors. Both threaten the rural economy of the North Highlands.
The initiative does not seek to discourage people from buying bungalows, rather we are proposing to work with planning authorities to develop guidelines for placing these houses so that they fit into existing farmsteads and villages with the least loss of agricultural land. Also we will work with kit manufacturers to introduce design elements that reflect local identity in the use of materials, details and proportions, so that the houses look like houses in the North Highlands. Of course both tasks will have to be accomplished in a way that is affordable.
A third effort involves planning for the sustainable expansion of existing villages and towns, so that those people who wish to can find convenient affordable housing near schools and other services.
Hank Dittmar, Chief Executive of The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment