Poundbury: a surprising success story in rural town planning

By Lucy Erskine

Poundbury isn’t for everyone. It has its quirks, but it’s a model that works. Lucy describes it as a tiny slice of safe, functioning urbanity nestled in rural Dorset, which punches well above its weight in terms of quality of life and community feel. Those who might be rethinking town centres across the UK, how they function, who they serve, and what they offer, could usefully take a long look at Poundbury.

Lucy grew up in Wimborne, Dorset. After graduating from University College London, she built a career in commercial sales with high growth software companies, living in the UK, Denmark, Sweden, and Bermuda before returning to Dorset in 2004 with her husband, Rob, to raise their two children.

When I founded Gungho Marketing in 2007, I wasn’t thinking about town planning, urban design, or transport links. I was simply looking for a low budget place to start my business. To give you some background, Gungho is a lead generation agency specialising in the fast-evolving world of regulatory technology, and since its inception has been in steady demand from clients across Europe and the US. My kitchen table in the tiny West Dorset village of Drimpton was the first office, but before too long, I was hiring staff and taking on commercial premises in the nearby market town of Bridport, where my business started to thrive. But, by 2009, it became clear that if Gungho was to keep growing, we’d need more space and more people.

That’s what led me to Poundbury. At the time, Poundbury still had an air of uncertainty about it. The architecture was impressive, and the urban planning experiment initiated by Prince Charles (now King Charles) was the subject of curiosity. From the outside, Poundbury looked a bit like a movie set, a bit too perfect, too planned. But when I started looking more closely, I realised it might be exactly what my business needed, as its location would help to draw talent from a much wider area. It’s right on the edge of Dorchester and easily commutable from Weymouth, Yeovil and Poole. Office space was readily available and just about affordable. Parking was easy. And the planning principles of walkability and integration of commercial and residential space with access to local amenities were surprisingly modern for such a traditionally laid out place.

Relocating Gungho to Poundbury turned out to be a sensible business choice. Recruitment became significantly easier. Suddenly, we had access to a much broader pool of people, many of whom were delighted to find quality employment without needing to relocate or commute to a major city. The office itself impressed our clients too, particularly those visiting from the US. Venture capital-backed tech executives from New York or San Francisco were charmed by the distinctive architecture and compact town feel. We often take them to The Duchess for lunch and a pint, and they remark on how “English” the whole experience felt (in a good way). What surprised us the most, however, was the linguistic diversity we were able to tap into. Despite being in a rural part of Dorset, we somehow managed to build a team that included French, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Chinese and Russian speakers. In our line of work, engaging with international clients in the regulatory technology sector, this has been a massive asset. I never expected to find such multilingual talent in this part of the country, and it’s a real testament to the hidden depth of the local recruitment pool.

Shortly after moving the business, my family and I also decided to relocate to Poundbury. At the time, our children were aged 9 and 11. The move offered a level of independence that was hard to find in a rural village. Our children could walk into town, hop on a bus, and meet friends in Queen Mother Square, and we didn’t have to worry about traffic or safety. The whole town is designed to be pedestrian-friendly, with narrow roads and calming layouts that discourage speeding. I could walk to work in minutes, pop home at lunchtime to let the dog out, and still be back at my desk with time to spare.

Poundbury has its own unique calming rhythm – there’s no hustle and bustle here. Gungho staff love the free parking, the lunch breaks spent walking among the low traffic neighbourhood made up of crescents and courtyards. A slow walk at lunchtime to buy sausage rolls from The Brace of Butchers, or grab a sandwich from the Little Waitrose makes for a relaxing break from the daily grind. There’s something satisfying about working in a place where everything is within reach, not just out of convenience, but because it’s been intentionally designed that way.

The green spaces around Poundbury have become central to our team culture. We regularly host wellbeing walks for staff, using the landscaped routes and open areas that wind through the area. The Great Field, in particular, is a gem. It’s a fantastic public space that we’ve used for all kinds of informal Gungho events, from staff rounders matches to our annual summer picnic.

Of course, no place is perfect. While Poundbury excels in many ways, running a growing business here comes with its own set of challenges. Chief among those is attracting talent. While the area offers a good recruitment pool of candidates for entry and mid level roles, it can be difficult to attract top tier candidates for senior positions. Recruiting a new CEO, for example, or expanding a senior leadership team from within the local area is no small task, and it will most likely require a national search.

Second to this is connectivity. The geographic remoteness of Poundbury as a location can be challenging, as it is a very long commute from any major city. Travelling to London for meetings or conferences is entirely doable, but it’s a commitment. The train from Dorchester to London Waterloo takes a minimum of 2.5 hours and, while scenic, it makes in-person networking, investor meetings or spontaneous face-to-face interactions more difficult to sustain over time.

As Gungho has grown, we’ve also felt the pinch in terms of physical space. Poundbury is fantastic for small businesses, independents and start ups, but offers limited options for larger, open plan offices. For a scaling company like Gungho, finding the next size up office space will not be easy. That’s something I hope the planners will consider as they continue developing the area.

One of the most common criticisms of new towns is that they lack a centre and a soul. Poundbury’s planners clearly recognised that risk and took it seriously. Queen Mother Square is beginning to become the heart of the area, as a civic space and as a gathering place. Markets are held there, people meet for coffee and a pint, events happen and it provides a gravitational centre. What’s impressive is that the planning doesn't just serve function, it fosters relationships, as the streets are walkable, the businesses are independent, and the housing is mixed. People actually get to know their neighbours. Children grow up seeing familiar faces. Adults bump into each other doing their daily errands and these small, daily interactions build a sense of belonging.

The impressive Queen Mother Square in Poundbury

Buying a home in Poundbury allowed our family to thrive. Our children became more confident and independent. We made friends and feel connected. From a practical standpoint, we’ve also benefited as house prices have risen steadily in the area. And when we need a break from town life, it’s just a short drive to the coast at Weymouth.

Gungho also continues to thrive. The environment in Poundbury has supported that growth, not just through recruitment, but through staff retention and morale as there’s something energising about working in a place that’s designed for people.

Final thoughts

Poundbury isn’t for everyone. It has its quirks and, as someone who arrived unsure and is now thoroughly embedded, I can say with confidence it’s a model that works. I’d describe it as a tiny slice of safe, functioning urbanity nestled in rural Dorset, and it punches well above its weight in terms of quality of life and community feel. Those who might be rethinking town centres across the UK, how they function, who they serve, and what they offer, could usefully take a long look at Poundbury.