Cornwall Council to Release 400 Acres for 4,000 New Homes

There are 25,000 households on Cornwall’s housing register. The council now reckons some of its own land could be part of the fix.

Cornwall Council has started work on a new initiative called Homes Cornwall, built around a fairly simple idea. Use council-owned land to get more homes built for local people, and get them built faster.

What the plan involves

The project is moving into its initial stages. It would use a small amount of council-owned land in partnership with developers, including the council’s own development company, Treveth. The point is to speed up the delivery of affordable housing and low-cost market housing for the people who need it most.

The scale is significant. The council wants to release around 400 acres of land on sites throughout Cornwall, with the aim of delivering at least 4,000 homes.

Those homes would be a mix. Affordable housing, market sale homes and market rental homes, designed to cover a wide range of needs rather than one kind of buyer or renter.

Why the council says it matters

Cllr Peter La Broy, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for housing, described the project as a way to make a real difference for residents who have struggled to find somewhere to live.

“One of the biggest challenges we face in Cornwall is delivering new homes for our residents to buy and rent, and Homes Cornwall is an innovative new project that can make a real difference,” he said.

“Using our land will allow us to ensure these new houses are being built for our local residents, and with 25,000 households on our housing register, the need could not be clearer.”

Peter La Broy added that the council is at the start of the work and that he is keen to see it develop.

Cllr Tim Dwelly, the council’s portfolio holder for economic regeneration, framed it as the council putting its own assets to work.

“Using our land, we can work proactively with developers to enable them to accelerate building homes and focus on meeting our resident’s needs,” he said.

“This initiative will help us address the housing crisis by using our own assets and working in partnership with local builders, to maximise the benefits for our residents.”

What the business view is

Ann Vandermeulen, Regional Business and Stakeholder Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses in Cornwall, said more housing matters for the wider economy too.

“We recognise that providing more homes for our residents represents a critical component to delivering Cornwall’s economic ambitions,” she said. “Anything that can help improve the housing supply across Cornwall is good news for the wider economy.”

For now the project sits at the early stages. The sites, the timings and which developers get involved are all still to come.