Minister claims Prince Charles only built Poundbury to 'boost his ego'

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said the prince's "sustainable development" near Dorchester owed more to self-aggrandisement than any "real concern for the residents".

She likened the village to 19th century projects in which industrialists built new communities to house factory workers, citing Bournville in Birmingham and Saltaire, West Yorkshire.

But her criticisms were met with anger from opposition politicians and architects, who described them as "snide and unfair".

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They overshadowed a more serious message from the minister in a speech warning against the development of "social apartheid" in the UK.

Charles announced the creation of his "model" urban community in 1987 and Poundbury came into existence on 400 acres of land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall in Dorset.

Buildings must have energy-conserving features, such as efficient insulation, doubleglazing, condensing boilers and water meters.

Some go further, with solar panels, ground-heat recovery systems and rainwater recycling.

The prince is hugely proud of the development, regularly inviting visiting heads of state and dignitaries to see it.

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But in a speech to the Left-wing Fabian Society in Westminster, Miss Blears dismissed it in a sentence.

Referring to the 19th century industrialists' housing schemes, she said they "owed more to paternalism and the aggrandisement of the benefactor than real concern for the residents".

Then she added: "If I were feeling cheeky, I might add Poundbury to the list."

She praised new towns such as Milton Keynes as ideal examples of modern development.

Conservative housing spokesman Grant Shapps leapt to the defence of Charles.

"I am a big fan of Poundbury and these remarks are very unfair," he said.

"Nobody has done more to promote ideas about building communities than the prince."

The neo-classical architect Quinlan Terry, described as Charles's favourite architect, said the minister's comments were both "snide" and "historically inaccurate".

"Saltaire, Bournville and these other places were very, very popular," he said.

"They were built by wealthy people who wanted to improve the lot of their employees.

"It wasn't the welfare state that did it, so Labour doesn't like it. They don't like the idea that charity starts with the family.

"It's easy for politicians to make snide remarks. The truth of the matter is that people want to live in Poundbury.

"Miss Blears is pushing the modernist cause, which is to build houses that nobody wants to live in."

In her wider message on "social apartheid", Miss Blears said no single faith or ethnic group should dominate a neighbourhood to the extent that others feel "alienated, insecure or unsafe".

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She said that as the Government pressed ahead with plans for three million new homes, it should ensure that different types and sizes of property are mixed together, rather than the wealthy living in gated communities and the poor in sink estates.

She cited with approval Aneurin Bevan's vision of towns "where the doctor, the grocer, the butcher and the labourer all lived in the same street" and said that, in the modern world, the same principle should apply to different ethnic groups.

"In our modern context, with a far more socially and geographically mobile and diverse society than the one Bevan was analysing, there is an even greater need for communities which reflect different faiths, races and social classes."