St Keverne key handover

A local family were presented with the keys to one of the properties by PHA Chair Alan Shepherd and Cornwall Council Portfolio Holder for Housing, Councillor Mark Kaczmarek. Caroline Burton, Alan Pearce and their ten year-old daughter Chloe had been living around the corner for six years. They were watching the new homes being built at the same time as their family was outgrowing their former home; they were expecting a baby a few days after receiving their keys to their 3 bedroom home.

Miss Burton said: “We didn’t like to get our hopes up when we first applied for one of these new homes and we are so excited to be moving in. Everything is perfect; the layout, the space, the garden - I am really pleased with it! We know our new neighbours already; we either know them or their parents.”

There were concerns from the Parish Council about who would be able to move into the new homes which are governed by a local connection clause. Cornwall Council and PHA followed the allocation and nominations process for these timber framed homes which have all been let to people with a connection to the local area.

Mr Pearce, a local cabinet maker said: “I have traced my family tree to way back and we definitely qualify as locals.” He continued: “If these houses hadn’t come up when they did, we would have had to have moved out of the village, which would have been such a shame for us all.”

Councillor Mark Kaczmarek was enthusiastic about the scheme and said: “In an area dominated by second homes it is great to see local families in housing need moving into these affordable homes. Social housing should be about keeping communities together and this scheme is a prime example of this – we need more of these developments.”

This was the second phase of the St Keverne development for which they had been supported with an £870,000 investment from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). Cornwall Council contributed a £32,500 subsidy for the scheme in return for nomination rights for local people and also agreed to sell the site to the Devon and Cornwall Housing group for £1 to support the development which had higher than normal costs because of the steeply sloping site together with the remote location. The project completes the multi-million pound scheme started by DCH on adjacent land purchased from Kerrier District Council which provided 6 houses for shared ownership in 2006.

Alan Shepherd said: “In this difficult financial climate it is satisfying to see the completion of this quality affordable housing scheme and the benefits it brings for local families and the local area.”