Published August 28th, 2018
Leading Cornish social housing provider, Ocean Housing, has just handed over the keys to 18 brand new affordable homes in the county.
The scheme, at Treskerby, a tiny hamlet south of Scorrier in west Cornwall, comprises two, three, and four-bedroomed houses. The homes, a mix of social renting and shared ownership, were built by Truro-based developers, Swannick & Kearn Properties.
It’s part of a major £1.9 million project to build 140 new homes in the village, a quarter of which will be affordable. The rest will be sold on the open market.
Ocean has invested £200 million in social housing in Cornwall in the last decade, and plans to build 3,000 new homes in the county by 2030.
“There’s a woeful shortage of affordable housing in Cornwall – and across the rest of the country – with demand far outstripping supply,” said Ocean’s chief executive, Mark Gardner.
“The housing crisis needs to be urgently tackled if we’re going to make any headway – and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do with schemes like this one at Treskerby.”
The homes were earmarked for people with a local connection and occupied within two days of being completed. Mother-of-three Kylie Skewes and her sister, Michelle Mutton, are now near neighbours after being allocated properties in the village.
“Before we moved here, we were living in a tiny two-bedroomed cottage in Camborne. My sons were sharing one room and my daughter had to sleep in my bed as there wasn’t room for the cot,” said Miss Skewes, who works as a teaching assistant in nearby Redruth.
“We’re now living in a three-bedroomed home, which is big enough for all of us – and it has a lovely garden for the children to play in.
“My children and their cousins are all really close, and we’re so thrilled that they’ll get to grow up living around the corner from each other.”
A full list of future development schemes and new homes for rent and shared ownership can be found at www.oceanhousing.com.
