The Council has acquired a residential property in Hugh Town in response to the immediate need for housing on the islands.
The property, ‘Kirklees’ located on Porthcressa Road, was purchased for £530,000 in September 2023 and comprises 1 ground floor 1-bedroom flat and a 2-bedroom maisonette. Work will be undertaken to bring the property to a compliant standard for permanent rental. These works are expected to be completed by the end of March 2024.
In January 2022, the Council declared a Housing Crisis. The acquisition of these homes is intended to help alleviate the continued pressure on the housing market and ensure that these properties are retained for residential use, rather than as holiday lets. The purchase of this property feeds into the Council’s wider vision to support the future sustainability of the islands and follows the acquisition and development of April Cottage in 2022, which was also undertaken to address the islands’ immediate housing need.
Councillor Tim Dean, Lead Member for Housing and Corporate Estate, said: “I'm pleased that the Council is taking steps to address the urgent housing need on the islands. Whilst this is a positive step, it will not fix the wider housing issues we are facing as a community and so we continue to work towards delivering our longer-term housing delivery projects.”
In order to help address the longer term housing needs on the islands, the Council has also transferred a site at Carn Thomas to LiveWest for development and we continue to work with Cornwall Community Land Trust and eligible self-build applicants to progress the site at Ennor Farm.
