Prince William unveils plans to tackle homelessness on Duchy of Cornwall Land.

At St Petrocs we are absolutely delighted to be part of a truly remarkable collaboration between The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Duchy Of Cornwall, Homewards, and ourselves.

Together, we've embarked on this truly impactful work to address homelessness in Cornwall. We are looking forward to continuing to develop this project and the transformative impact it will have on the lives of those experiencing homelessness in Cornwall.

Full Press Release:

Prince William and the Duchy of Cornwall have announced the estate’s first ever innovative housing project to help address homelessness in Nansledan, Newquay. The project will be delivered alongside Cornish charity, St Petrocs, and will provide 24 homes with wrap around support for local people experiencing homelessness.

Land for the homes will be provided by the Duchy of Cornwall which will also use its design and development management expertise to guide the delivery of the project as a whole. The development is due to begin in September 2024 and the first homes are due to complete in autumn 2025. The first phase will focus on creating high quality temporary accommodation that feels like home with a clear pathway to a permanent home as accommodation becomes available.

Ben Murphy, Estate Director, the Duchy of Cornwall: “As one of his key priorities for the Duchy of Cornwall, Prince William asked us to address the homelessness challenge within Cornwall and other areas where the estate resides. Today, we are excited to reveal plans for this innovative housing project to help break the cycle of homelessness in the Newquay area. Partnering with St Petrocs, and with support and expertise from Homewards and an active local community, we will be helping people rebuild their lives, with training and employment opportunities alongside the provision of more permanent housing that we are building in Nansledan.

“The Duchy is well-known for integrating high quality affordable housing into the new communities built on its land, and Prince William is determined to ensure that we continue to be part of the solution when it comes to the housing crisis. The shortage of social rent and private rented properties are widely considered to be the main causes of increasing homelessness across the country, which is why we are proud to launch this project alongside ambitious plans to unlock more affordable and attainable homes across our estate.”

The initial phase of the development will be delivered in collaboration with leading Cornish homelessness charity, St Petrocs, who will help residents access wrap around support, build community connections through training and employment and ultimately find permanent accommodation. They’ll also work with local organisations such as the neighbouring community hub, Newquay Orchard.

Henry Meacock, Chief Executive, St Petrocs: “Everybody at St Petrocs is delighted to be part of this collaboration with the Duchy of Cornwall. Our charity has been working in Cornwall for over 30 years and has supported many hundreds of people in this time. With the Duchy of Cornwall, we believe we can deliver a truly exemplary project embedded in the local community which will provide a route for many more people out of homelessness for good.

“We look forward to working together to demonstrate the importance of high-quality temporary accommodation, where individuals can build a connection to their community and a clear pathway to permanent local housing. This partnership is an important step in achieving our shared goal of ending homelessness in Cornwall and across the UK.”

The project will showcase the power of collaboration from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, and the role we can all play in ending homelessness in our communities. This transformative approach is inspired by Homewards – a five-year programme led by The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales to show that it is possible to end homelessness. Homewards strives to form locally led coalitions of committed individuals, organisations, and businesses who will work together to create and deliver a tailored plan to prevent and end homelessness in their areas.

The Duchy of Cornwall is harnessing the guidance and network of Homewards in the design of this project. Homewards will be evaluating the impact of this initial innovative housing project and will share the learnings with their local coalitions in their six locations across the UK.

Professor Peter Mackie, member of the Homewards National Expert Panel: “Across the UK, the lack of truly affordable homes is causing homelessness and results in hundreds of thousands of people living in poor quality temporary accommodation, with a lack of support and often putting their lives on hold for years.

“Building enough permanent affordable homes is a priority, and until we achieve this goal, we must rethink and redesign our temporary solutions. This project, a collaboration between the Duchy of Cornwall, St Petrocs and Homewards, hopes to demonstrate the power of delivering high quality temporary accommodation that really feels like home and gives people the dignity they deserve, alongside a clear pathway to permanent accommodation, creating a model that can be replicated and inspire innovation across the UK.”

Alongside the innovative housing project announced today, the Duchy of Cornwall is also confirming that its future housing projects in Nansledan will include the ambition to increase affordable housing from 30% to 40%. This will mean up to 200 more affordable homes will be built on top of the existing 1,020, with a focus on social rent. The Duchy also plans to create a Private Rented Scheme for Nansledan, which removes the barriers to entry for those on lower incomes, provides security of tenure, longer term tenancies, and transparent rent increases in high quality, sustainable homes.

The estate has also committed to building over 400 social rented homes and a further 475 affordable dwellings on its new development of South East Faversham in Kent. The urban extension to the existing town of Faversham is a direct response to Swale Borough Council’s initial call for housing sites in 2018 to address the acute housing shortage in the local area. Since 2019, there has been an 89% increase in the number of households in temporary accommodation within the Swale Borough, and the Council’s current housing list shows 1,318 people are without a permanent home.

South East Faversham will be aligned with local affordable housing policy to ensure it delivers local housing for local needs. The Duchy is also engaging a range of specialist housing providers including The Faversham Community Land Trust and various housing charities dedicated to tackling homelessness. The Duchy hopes to begin developing the site in 2026, with social housing available from 2028.

END

Photo: A photograph of St Petrocs and Duchy of Cornwall Staff walking around Nansleden, Newquay

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