Cornwall Council has announced that they will be delivering three housing schemes in Penryn to provide 22 new affordable homes.

"We are continuing to face a serious housing crisis in Cornwall and are taking direct action to provide homes for people that need our help" said Olly Monk, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for housing and planning.

The first scheme take place on New Street where the council say they are providing four new build flats. The homes, bought on the open market and enhanced by the Council, are now complete and have been handed over to Cornwall Housing Ltd, with residents due to move in shortly.

The council say that the main aim of this scheme is to help address some of the most critical aspects of the housing crisis in the Duchy and that these homes are for households that would otherwise be at risk of homelessness.

There are currently over 700 households living in temporary or emergency accommodation across Cornwall, with more than 330 of those single people in need of help. People can find themselves homeless for many reasons, such as eviction from a privately rented home (including 'no fault' evictions), family or relationship breakdown, fleeing domestic violence, loss of income/employment, bereavement, significant changes to mental or physical health, or struggling to cope with life outside the armed forces.

The flats are part of the Council's Next Steps Accommodation Programme of 60 homes all over Cornwall, with residents receiving any healthcare, employment, or tenancy management support that they might need as part of a journey towards settled housing.

Cornwall Council has said that so far 28 properties have been purchased as part of the programme in key areas including St Austell, Newquay, Wadebridge, Helston, Bodmin and Saltash as well as Penryn. The homes will be available for social rent and have been delivered using a mix of Council funding and Government-provided grant subsidy.

You can watch a video from the Council here explaining all three schemes but keep reading below for more information.

The second project in Penryn will see Stoke House, converted by the Council to provide six flats for shared accommodation. The Council acquired the building in 2021 specifically to provide new high-quality homes. It is the second 'shared accommodation' scheme to be provided by the Council, following the refurbishment of Morrab Cottages in Penzance.

Stoke House is a Grade II architecturally important example of a 'mid-Georgian style' Mansion House, which had lain empty for several years. The Council say the acquisition and refurbishment of the building will help preserve this important heritage asset for the town, and provide accommodation for up to 12 residents once it is completed later this year.

The final scheme will see six SoloHaus modular homes provided on part of the town's Commercial Road car park. The scheme is part of the Council's housing programme being delivered in partnership with The Hill Group and Cormac Ltd. They say It will provide high-quality, low-carbon homes for single people who would otherwise be homeless.

The plans were approved back in November 2022 Cornwall Council approve plans for housing pods in Penryn car park, however there had initially been some against the proposal after a report said that the plans in the car park will displace thousands of vehicles per year.

Commercial Road is the third SoloHaus scheme to be delivered by Cornwall Council and follows the recently completed 15-home development at Old County Hall in Truro (recently featured on the BBC's Simon Reeve's Return to Cornwall). Work has also begun on constructing a new 18-home scheme at Tregunnel Hill in Newquay.

The Council has secured planning permission for its fourth SoloHaus scheme, at the former Newtown Depot on the outskirts of Penzance, where construction of an 18-home scheme for former rough sleepers is already underway.

The new homes at Commercial Road in Penryn will be managed by Cornwall Housing Ltd, with individual support provided to the new residents to help them secure permanent accommodation over time. Construction will begin in late March, and the first residents are expected to be able to move into their new homes in late Autumn 2023.

Olly Monk said:

"The combination of the impact of the Covid pandemic, the boom in house prices, the reduction in the availability of homes to rent and significant increase in rental costs, has created a 'perfect storm', leaving many people in Cornwall struggling to find somewhere to live.

"We are committed to helping residents who are being affected by the unprecedented pressures on housing in Cornwall and I look forward to seeing people moving into these new homes in due course".

Tackling current housing pressures is a top priority the council have said but they also shared a list of other targets:

• Provide modular homes to provide temporary and emergency accommodation so local people can be housed without worrying about being asked to leave at a moment's notice
• Build significantly more Council homes for local people to rent or buy
• Support the provision of affordable homes by housing associations for local people to rent or buy
• Ensure sites deliver affordable housing through the planning process
• Unlock the potential for town centres to be regenerated to provide more housing
• Support community-led organisations that want to deliver their own homes
• Offer loans to bring empty homes back into use
• Enable communities to stop new builds being snapped up by would be second homeowners.