Plans to provide 18 SoloHaus modular homes at the former Newtown Depot on the outskirts of Penzance have been given the go ahead.
This is the fourth SoloHaus scheme to be granted planning permission, and is part of the Council’s ground-breaking modular housing programme being delivered in partnership with The Hill Group and Cormac. The Penzance scheme will provide 18 one-bedroom low carbon homes for single people who would otherwise be homeless.
The homes are specifically intended to help those who are ready to move on from emergency accommodation or other provision, and will help reduce the need to place people in expensive, nightly-paid hotels and B&Bs.
In 2021, in a landmark deal with the Hill Group, Cornwall Council bought 79 modular SoloHaus self-contained one-bedroom homes to provide safe and secure homes for people in urgent housing need.
Designed with the help of leading homelessness charities, SoloHaus properties are single-storey fully self-contained modular homes with kitchen, living and dining area, bedroom and bathroom and arrive fully furnished, with everything needed for someone to move into the same day, right down to cutlery, towels and bedlinen.
The first Council Solohaus scheme at Old County Hall in Truro was completed at the end of 2022, with the first residents moving into their new home before Christmas.
Work is currently underway on constructing a new 18 home SoloHaus scheme at Tregunnel Hill in Newquay, with work beginning earlier this month on providing six SoloHaus modular homes on part of the Commercial Road car park in Penryn.
Construction work on the site has already started, with infrastructure work and demolition of the existing structures underway.
“We are taking direct action to tackle the serious housing crisis facing the people of Cornwall by providing homes for those that need our help”
said the council’s portfolio holder for housing Olly Monk.
“We all need and deserve somewhere to live and call home. The lack of affordable accommodation is affecting all types of households, including working families, couples and single people with many people struggling to find somewhere to live.”
“These modular SoloHaus homes provide excellent quality accommodation for single people who would otherwise be homeless. They also provide excellent value for money which means that we have a stock of good quality homes that people can live in for a short period on dedicated sites, whilst they get the help they need to secure a permanent home.
“By delivering these homes, we are helping residents live nearer to where they want and need to be, with the security of knowing the home is theirs until a permanent home can be found”.
Tackling current housing pressures is a top priority for the Council. The impact of the Covid pandemic, the reduction in the number of privately rented homes, in part put down to increased demand for holiday accommodation, rising rental costs and the recent general property boom have created a ‘perfect storm’ in the local housing market.
There are currently over 700 households living in temporary or emergency accommodation across Cornwall, with more than 330 single people in need of housing. People can find themselves homeless for many reasons, including family or relationship breakdown, fleeing domestic violence, eviction from a privately rented home (including ‘no fault’ evictions), loss of income/employment, bereavement, significant changes to mental or physical health, or struggling to cope with life outside the armed forces.
As well as providing modular homes to provide temporary and emergency accommodation, the Council is also continuing work to:
- Buy existing homes to use as social housing
- Build more Council houses 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.
