500 homes sold – and Leslie and Nicola have bought three of them
With the construction of Poundbury now around the halfway stage, C G Fry & Son have sold their 500th house at the landmark development.
And the buyers have not had to move very far – because it is their third Poundbury home.
Leslie and Nicola Wales moved to Poundbury seven years ago. But it was not long before a house being built nearby took their fancy and they were on the move once more.
Now they have moved yet again, to another Poundbury house built by Frys in Lower Blakemere Road.
Said Nicola Wales: “I just can’t resist the temptation of a brand new house. You can start with a blank canvas and create a whole new home.”
Leslie said: “Poundbury suits us down to the ground. Before, we were living in Osmington and working in Dorchester, and doing the drive every day started to seem a bit daft.
“Here the countryside is still on the doorstep but everything is much handier, and I can walk to work when I want to.
“The facilities here are increasing all the time, so you can find almost everything you need without going far. It’s a sociable place and it does have a real community spirit.
“The place is still evolving, and that’s really interesting. Every now and then when you are out for a walk around, you turn a corner and think ‘wow, look at that’...”
C G Fry & Son have been centrally involved at Poundbury since building started in 1993. Sales and marketing manager Ruth Guilor presented Leslie and Nicola with a framed drawing of their new home by Paul Docksey, who produces illustrations for the company’s brochures.
She said: “We have had a number of people now who have had one house on Poundbury and then moved to another one – but I am not sure we have had anyone else yet who has bought three houses one after the other.
“Poundbury has been popular almost right from the start, and it has stayed that way all through the ups and downs of the property market.
“Building five hundred houses here is certainly something to celebrate for us. The development has been a fantastic showcase for C G Fry & Son. It has literally shown the world what we can do.”
Simon Conibear, development manager for the Duchy of Cornwall, said: "Poundbury is a project in which has attracted a huge amount of attention to Dorchester and Dorset, and it is good to have local firms such as C G Fry & Son playing a key part."