Cornwall Council and Homes England sign new housing pact

More than 20,000 households with a Cornwall connection are currently registered as being in housing need, and around 800 of them are relying on the council for temporary or emergency accommodation. Against that backdrop, Cornwall Council and the government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England, have put their working relationship on a more formal footing.

A Memorandum of Understanding

Cornwall Council and Homes England have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, reaffirming a long-term commitment to work together on the county’s growth, housing and regeneration ambitions. The two organisations already have a strong working relationship, and the agreement is designed to bring greater structure to it, giving both sides a framework for exploring opportunities and lining up priorities.

Five areas sit at the centre of the deal:

• Working together to accelerate housing delivery across Cornwall
• Unlocking public sector-led housing and regeneration projects
• Supporting private sector investment and development
• Increasing the delivery of affordable homes
• Supporting the infrastructure and planning needed to enable future growth

It builds on a track record the two organisations already share, including large-scale delivery at St Austell, Truro and Newquay.

The scale of the problem the deal is meant to address

The agreement lands as residents across Cornwall continue to feel the squeeze of the ongoing housing crisis. Alongside the households in housing need and those in temporary accommodation, rising construction costs are making developments harder to deliver, particularly in the county’s more affordable places to live. That combination has left some schemes stalled and some sites standing empty.

What the council says

Cllr Peter La Broy, Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for housing, said the new Place Partnership with Homes England was “an important step in bringing together expertise, investment opportunities and resources to help deliver the homes our communities need.”

“Affordable housing remains one of our biggest priorities,” he said. “By working closely with Homes England, we can strengthen our ability to unlock sites, support housing projects, attract additional funding and increase the supply of affordable homes for local people.

“This agreement reflects the scale of Cornwall’s housing challenge, but also our ambition to tackle it. Ultimately, it is about creating more housing opportunities for residents and helping ensure that people can continue to live and thrive in the communities they call home.”

What Homes England says

Kate McBride, Homes England’s Executive Regional Director for the South, said the agreement “further strengthens our long-standing partnership and reflects how the agency aims to tailor its approach, in collaboration with local partners, to support the unique needs and ambitions of different communities across the country.”

“This agreement formalises the next chapter for a close collaboration that has already unlocked projects across Cornwall,” she said, “and will help us work together effectively to support long-term housing, regeneration and economic growth ambitions.”

Neither side has put a figure on how many additional homes the partnership is expected to unlock, or a timescale for when sites currently stalled by build costs might start moving again.