“But ministers insist that quality can be achieved cheaply. In an effort to secure better standards of housing design they have backed controversial design codes used on Poundbury, Prince Charles’s mock village in Dorset, and Seaside in Florida, the setting for the satirical film The Truman Show.
Such codes are endorsed by the influential “new urbanism” movement, an anti-sprawl group that started in America to champion pedestrian friendly town centre living. But many in the design community claim that such codes stifle innovation and dictate style.”