Prince William plans to sell a large portion of the Duchy of Cornwall’s land holdings.
Prince William’s plan worries some citizens. PDO
Prince of Wales William43, plans to sell thousands of acres of land in the Duchy of Cornwall over the next ten years. The Duchy of Cornwall is a 54,000-acre private land holding that provides income for William.
BBC-, The Times – and Radar-news sites, the reason behind the sale is William’s intention to invest more than 576 million euros in solving the housing and nature crises. The lands of the Duchy of Cornwall are mainly located in South West England.
According to Will Bax, chief executive of the Duchy, the aim is to sell 20 per cent of the land in the Duchy of Cornwall. The areas for sale include farms, cottages, allotment gardens and community facilities.
According to Bax, William wants the duchy to be not just a landowner, but an actor with a positive impact on society and the environment.
William reportedly plans to sell as much as 20 percent of the Duchy of Cornwall’s land holdings. PDO
William’s plan has aroused fear in the citizens. According to Radar, residents of the duchy are afraid of becoming homeless.
– Some of these farms have been farmed by the same families for generations with the understanding that the duchy offered a certain degree of long-term security and continuity. That sense of certainty has been shaken, and what people are struggling with the most right now is not knowing what the future holds, one local source tells Radar.
According to the source, some farmers fear losing both the farms that support their livelihood, as well as their homes and communities.
– The identity of these people is deeply linked to the land they cultivate, so there is genuine concern about what their future will look like if ownership is transferred elsewhere.
William has the Homewards project, which aims to fight homelessness. The Duchy’s goal is to provide 12,000 new apartments by 2040. William recently told the Tech Week conference in London that an artificial intelligence-based system could be used to identify in time when someone is at risk of becoming homeless.
William inherited the lands of the Duchy of Cornwall when his father, King Charles77, will be crowned in 2022. According to the BBC, most of William’s private income comes from profits generated by the Duchy of Cornwall, which is more than €23 million annually.
