Interview with Giles Charrington
Giles was the Senior Surveyor in the Private Housing Unit and he became Project Manager for Milton Keynes Development Corporation on the HomeWorld project. His role was marketing the plots to developers and to promote innovative private housing in Milton Keynes. The team also wanted to highlight energy conservation. Bradwell Common was chosen because of its proximity to Central MK. It was decided that private housing in the centre of Milton Keynes was what was wanted. Additionally, the developers knew if they produced a good house at HomeWorld they had a better chance of a development site elsewhere in the City. HomeWorld was designed to be a little bit outrageous and was ahead of its time. Getting the site ready on site was a challenge especially as there was snow in May which resulted in one of the marquees collapsing.
Giles thinks HomeWorld was very successful and thinks the marketing strategy was instrumental in this success. There had been hope that the building industry would `run with the innovative ideas and that housing standards would improve but it didnt happen. Giles was also instrumental in the first `shared ownership houses in MK which were also the first in the UK.
Creator
Giles Charrington
Place
Milton Keynes
Contributor
Roger Kitchen, Mel Jeavons
Reference number
HWC/01/007
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