Village design statements soak up a lot of spare time from the very people that Cameron is relying on for the "The Big Society". If you want these people's contribution you need to value their time!
This sector of society is primarily composed of comfortably-off retired folk which is the very sector already under threat from falling pensions and rising retirement ages. In fact it's the recently retired who drive new projects (those who have been retired a few years have already evolved a life-style with no free time). These are the very people who will be in particularly short supply for the next few years.