Homes for refugees from Afghanistan, three further housing pod schemes for Cornwall’s homeless and the provision of more affordable homes across the Duchy are among housing plans currently being worked on at Cornwall Council.

The council’s portfolio holder for housing and planning Cllr Olly Monk has outlined the latest developments in a report to the economic growth and development overview and scrutiny committee, which is due to meet on Tuesday, October 3. His report states that the council is securing a £2.6-million grant from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to support the purchase of 20 homes to provide housing for Afghanistan refugees and temporary accommodation to ease pressures on the council.

Renovation has now been completed to enable the opening of the Somewhere Safe to Stay Hub at Chough House at River Street in Truro. The building – which previously housed a department of the West Briton newspaper among other businesses – has been converted into a purpose designed building to support people who find themselves homeless and provide them with a way back to a more settled lifestyle. The property was handed over to Cornwall Housing at the end of August and the facility has now welcomed its first occupants.

Construction continues on three further Solohaus ‘homeless pod’ schemes to deliver 42 one-bedroom low carbon homes for single people who would otherwise be without a home. The schemes are located at Newtown, Penzance (18 units), Commercial Road, Penryn (six units) and Tregunnel, St Austell (18 units). A bid has also been submitted to enable the council to acquire five homes that can be used to house single homeless people.

Referring to affordable homes and specialist and supported housing, Cllr Monk said: “We recognise that collectively we have insufficient variety and types of accommodation for some of our most vulnerable residents. This accommodation often gets called specialist and supported housing and covers a wide range of groups from those with physical or mental disabilities to young care leavers and many others.

“My planning and housing teams are working closely with colleagues across the council, particularly in social care teams, to find ways of increasing delivery of new and different types of accommodation in a specific programme of activity. A Supported & Specialist Housing Strategy and Implementation Plan has been prepared and this will be going to cabinet for approval in November.”

He points out that there are many other projects the council is working on to support the delivery of further affordable housing, whether it’s building its own properties or purchasing properties from developers to turn into affordable dwellings. These include:

  • Trecerus Farm, Padstow – Continuing to acquire 55 homes for social rent and shared ownership, as part of a scheme that is being delivered by Poltair Homes.
  • Hay Common, Launceston – Securing the last of the 67 homes that the council has purchased. Cllr Monk added that the council is exploring the opportunity to acquire further homes in the project’s final phases.
  • Higher Trewhiddle, St Austell – The council bought two properties to convert into affordable homes in August, which have now been handed over to Cornwall Housing, which manages and maintains approximately 10,200 homes on behalf of Cornwall Council.
  • Charter Walk, Liskeard – The council purchased three properties as affordable homes, which are also all now with Cornwall Housing.