Poundbury's street plan and aesthetics have been variously praised and criticised by several commentators. Writing in
Architect magazine, Professor
Witold Rybczynski said that "Poundbury embodies social, economic, and planning innovations that can only be called radical." Poundbury was intended to reduce
car dependency and encourage walking, cycling, and public transport. A survey conducted at the end of the first phase, however, showed that car use was higher in Poundbury than in the surrounding (rural) former district of West Dorset; but a 2022 report said "Poundbury has been highlighted for its pedestrian and public transport links and not being as 'car-based' as other developments across the country." Among the critics,
Stephen Bayley described it as "fake, heartless, authoritarian and grimly cute". In 2009, Dorchester Fire Station, designed by Calderpeel Architects, was shortlisted for the
Carbuncle Cup award for ugly buildings. According to
Simon Jenkins, "Many architects felt Poundbury was a comment on their failings – as it was – and deploring it became a badge of honour". Nonetheless, the project has also received praise. In 2013, on the 20th anniversary of the project, the New Urbanist publication
Better Cities and Towns wrote that it was "winning converts". A few years later, British architecture and design critic
Oliver Wainwright of
The Guardian wrote, "Poundbury, the Prince of Wales's traditionalist village in Dorset, has long been mocked as a feudal Disneyland. But a growing and diverse community suggests it's getting a lot of things right." He argued that its main success was achieving genuine
mixed-use development. ==Gallery==