Building A Legacy Awards honour landowners with long-term good at the heart of their communities
The King’s Foundation’s third annual Building A Legacy Awards honoured landowners who prioritise careful placemaking and long-lasting legacy in development of their land at a ceremony at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire yesterday, 24 September 2025.
His Majesty King Charles III, our Royal Founding President, has long championed traditional architecture, sustainable urbanism, and human-centered design. The Foundation’s flagship projects—Poundbury and Nansledan—reflect our vision for walkable, mixed-use communities rooted in classical aesthetics and social integration.
During its 35-year history, The King’s Foundation’s work in designing and overseeing sustainable communities has revealed to us that housebuilders, developers and promoters often promise the earth at the planning stage and, once planning has been obtained, either sell off the land or rarely deliver what they promise. Building A Legacy was formed in 2017 to address this issue and focus on landowners who take the opportunity to control what is built on their land over the longer term rather than sell it without suitable safeguards. The vision of our charity’s Royal Founding President His Majesty King Charles III inspired us to launch an annual Building A Legacy awards scheme to recognise those people leading the field in legacy development. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees.
Ben Bolgar, Executive Director of Projects, The King’s Foundation
Our Award winners are as follows:
Community Award: Pavilion in the Park, Poundbury
A Dorset charity, The Alcohol Education Trust (AET), created Pavilion in the Park (PiP) in Poundbury. Invited by The Duchy, AET designed a café, community space, office, and public conveniences. Funded by The Duchy, built at cost by Fry’s, and with free plans from The King’s Foundation, PiP opened in 2021 as a carbon-neutral hub using reclaimed materials. It quickly became a vital community centre, offering free services, events, and volunteer opportunities. Helena Conibear, former AET CEO, led the project.
Key Role Award: Anthony Downs, Estate Director Hatfield Park Estate, Gascoyne Estates
Anthony Downs, Estate Director at Hatfield Park Estate, has led strategic projects prioritising community needs. His Mill Green project, shaped by a 2011 “charrette”, successfully gained development support despite greenbelt status. Anthony authored the Gascoyne Estates Pattern Book (2008) and developed Building Codes, transforming derelict land into exemplary housing and repurposing a 1970s office. His “do it once, do it properly” philosophy and commitment to legacy development have earned awards and an appointment to the Office for Place board, uniting stakeholders for positive outcomes.
Landowner Award: Park View by Blenheim Estates
Blenheim Estate’s Park View development embodies its Legacy Principles: Respectful Design, Enduring Build Standards, Thriving Communities, and Environmental Care. This includes local materials, high energy efficiency, and traditional construction, fostering community and well-being. Blenheim partners with local authorities for affordable housing, retaining ownership to offer significant discounts (50% of Park View’s 300 homes). The development integrates with Woodstock, offering commercial units, job opportunities, civic spaces, walkable layouts, and homeworking spaces. Blenheim prioritises sustainability with wildlife features, allotment gardens, and community woodland, respecting Woodstock’s history and Blenheim Palace’s proximity.
“One element His Majesty focused on in his book on Harmony is that the world has become increasingly fragmented, zoned and specialised. This has undoubtedly led to many advances in areas such as the sciences but has perhaps not helped in building great towns and cities. We hope landowners, and all of those engaged in trying to build great places, will take inspiration from what is being achieved by members of our network from around the world and find the essential ingredients that have been laid out in this report, useful. Town-building is indeed a collective endeavour and if we stay connected with resolve towards a common purpose we will build the next generation of new places which future generations will cherish.”
Kristina Murrin, CEO of The King’s Foundation
For more information, read our newest report – Laying the Ground for New Towns: Ingredients for Success.
Recap on more of our Building A Legacy work with previous reports:
Economy of Place: Building Regional Communities
Building a Legacy: A Landowner’s Guide to Popular Development