Last September, national and international leaders in planning, design and place-making gathered at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, for the annual Building a Legacy event, hosted by Gascoyne Estates and The King's Foundation. The theme of the event was New Towns: Ingredients for Success and offered a wide range of perspectives on what it takes to create sustainable communities that enrich the lives of the people who live there.
A central thread running through the day was the challenge that sits at the heart of the Regional Building Foundation (RBF). The kinds of places in which people want to live, neighbourhoods with regional character, which are mixed use and walkable, are not the types of communities which we are building new in this country. Those desired qualities are increasingly only available in older stock, built generations ago. The RBF has set out to tackle this problem, demonstrating how we can build differently, by connecting landowners, regional housebuilders, material suppliers, planners, designers and funders through a new collaborative model.
Ashley Wheaton, Vice Chancellor of the University of the Built Environment, set out the RBF's purpose and direction to delegates. His presentation drew directly on the concerns raised throughout the day: that the planning and delivery systems underpinning new development have become increasingly disconnected from the qualities that make places function well and feel worth living in. The RBF's ambition is to help rebuild those connections, equipping the people involved in creating new places with better tools, knowledge and networks to do so.
Presentations throughout the day offered case studies of what is possible when these connections are made. Will Bax of the Duchy of Cornwall spoke about the pioneering high street in Nansledan in Cornwall. Rob Chesworth of The Crown Estate addressed how long-term thinking about land and growth can support more sustainable outcomes, a principle the RBF places at the centre of its regional forum model.
The afternoon featured a keynote from Jim Brainard, Mayor of Carmel, Indiana, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Ben Bolgar, Executive Director of The King's Foundation. The evening concluded in the Marble Hall with the President's Awards ceremony, hosted by Dame Ann Limb, recognising outstanding contributions to legacy-led place-making across the UK.
The 2026 Building a Legacy annual event will be hosted by Englefield Estate on 24th September, exploring the theme of Reinventing the Estate Village.