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Big plans for the heir to the British thronePrince William takes action! Royal wants to sell a fifth of the duchy
Prince William is planning a major restructuring of the Duchy of Cornwall and wants to invest billions in housing and climate protection. (archive)
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One of the biggest changes within the Duchy of Cornwall in decades!
According to The Times, the heir to the British throne wants to sell around a fifth of his billion-dollar property in order to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in affordable housing, climate protection and structurally weak regions.
570 million euros for housing construction and climate protection
As the British newspaper The Times reports, plans Prince William Investments of around 500 million pounds (around 570 million euros) over the next ten years. The money will flow into new housing projects, renewable energies and nature conservation programs, among other things.
The focus is particularly on Cornwall, the Scilly archipelago, Dartmoor, the region around Bath and Kennington in south London. This is where the prince apparently sees the greatest potential for social and ecological change.
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“The duchy should have a positive influence”
Will Bax, chief executive of the Duchy of Cornwall, spoke of an “era of change”. Prince William made it clear that the duchy should not only be used to own land.
“It should be primarily about having a positive impact on the world,” The Times quoted the executive as saying.
Accordingly, Prince William has given the order to develop solutions for the housing and environmental crisis, to stimulate economic growth in rural regions and to promote the expansion of renewable energies.
Thousands of new apartments planned
A central component of the plans is housing construction: around £160 million is to be invested in affordable housing projects. Between 10,000 and 12,000 new apartments could be built near urban areas by 2040.
The expansion of renewable energies also plays an important role. According to the report, enough electricity from solar and wind power will be generated to power up to 100,000 households within the next ten years.
In addition, nature conservation programs should benefit: around 20 million pounds are earmarked for environmental and renaturation projects.
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Duchy finances William's family life
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of the most important sources of income for the heir to the British throne, Prince William. He receives more than £20 million a year in profits from his billion-dollar estate.
Since the 14th century, assets have been passed on to the direct heir to the throne. William uses the income to finance both his public duties and the private and charitable life of his family Princess Kate as well as the children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
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Criticism of previous decisions
Recently, however, the duchy has also come under criticism. Among other things, the planned sale of several leased farms in Devon caused discussions.
Affected tenants said the uncertainty had put a lot of strain on them.
However, the Duchy emphasized that it wanted to enable farmers to buy their farms and not push them out.
Sources used: The Times, Spot on news, Dailymail
