Gascoyne Estates' CEO Jorge Mendonça and architect Gavin Murray reveal how they and their teams turned a tired town square into a beautiful and vibrant space.

Salisbury Square at the centre of Old Hatfield in Hertfordshire was, by common agreement, “unloved and unsuccessful.” It recently reopened (June 2026) after a major improvement scheme to widespread praise from people in the community and further afield.

New homes, offices and shops, along with a beautiful public space at the heart of the development, were delivered. A consultation, via a charrette held at the very start of the process, ensured the local community was fully engaged.

This episode also highlights the importance of taking the community with you when you embark on a major development project so that on completion you can hand it back to local people and businesses and watch it flourish and grow.

James Nason and his wife, Rowena Colthurst, own Pitchford Hall and Estate in Shropshire. At least, they do now.

In 1992, Rowena’s mother was forced to sell the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house. Although the family retained the surrounding land, James and Rowena made it their mission to buy back the Hall and reunite her family home with the wider estate.

In 2016, the couple raised the funds to purchase the Hall, which had fallen into dereliction. Since then, they have been working hard to source the contents that were sold at auction and bring the property back to life.

James describes Pitchford as a “tourism estate”, offering tours of the Hall, grounds, orangery and the world’s oldest treehouse. But it was their decision to become early adopters of solar energy that provided the consistent income needed to support additional borrowing.

Recorded in the treehouse, this episode explores the trials and tribulations of running a heritage asset like Pitchford Hall.

Ben Bolgar is the Executive Director for Projects at The King’s Foundation.

He first discussed architecture with the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, at Kensington Palace in 1988 and there was a meeting of minds that has underpinned Ben’s work during his nearly 25 years at the Foundation.

In that time Ben has led over 50 collaborative planning and design frameworks all over the world, championing the Enquiry by Design (EbD) process.

Describing architecture as “the mother of the arts”, Ben explains why he chose placemaking as his career, and how he challenged what he was taught at university where he says modernism was “shoved down our throats”.

The King's Foundation - Ben Bolgar

Enquiry by Design