The Prince of Wales is to launch a new regeneration fund next week to help the isolated rural community next to Dartmoor prison.
William will visit Princetown on Tuesday to unveil The Princetown Community Fund – which will make at least £250,000 available to support locally led social, economic and environmental projects in the moorland village.
The future king is no longer personally benefiting from the controversial £1.5 million annual rent generated by the abandoned prison, in a change announced earlier this year.
William asked for the sum to be removed from the multimillion-pound income he receives as heir to the throne from the Duchy of Cornwall from 2026-27 onwards, with the money spent on regenerating the local community instead.
A Dispatches and Sunday Times investigation in 2024 discovered the duchy signed a £37 million deal in 2022, before Charles became King and William the Prince of Wales, to lease Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice, paying £1.5 million a year over 25 years, and a deal with the Ministry of Defence to allow the armed forces to train on Dartmoor land.
But the category C prison in Devon has been empty since July 2024 after high levels of radon, a toxic gas that occurs naturally in soil and rocks and can cause lung cancer, were recorded in prisoners’ accommodation.
The new fund will be delivered by Devon Communities Together, and grants ranging from £500 to £40,000 will be available, alongside support for organisations applying for funding.
It forms part of the prince’s plan for the Duchy to deploy more than £500 million over the next decade to invest in local communities, homes, local economies, renewable energy, farming resilience and environmental recovery.
The official engagement falls on the Duke of Sussex’s 42nd birthday, but William, who is estranged from his brother, has yet to publicly react to Harry’s return to the UK.
William will visit Gather & Moor, a new community and cultural hub in the heart of Princetown developed by the Duchy of Cornwall, and meet representatives from heritage business Princetown Press.
He will also meet local residents who have been helping to develop a shared vision for the Devon village, and visit its youth club, which received Duchy funding to improve its facilities.
The Princetown fund will build on work by the Princetown Place Strategy and the Encounters Shop initiative.
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