Cornwall Council buys 130 new homes in bid to tackle housing crisis

Cornwall Council has bought 130 homes at West Carclaze Garden Village as part of an attempt to tackle the housing crisis

A council has bought 130 new homes in a multi-million pound deal to help tackle the housing crisis.

Cornwall Council bought the homes from developers Eco-Bos at West Carclaze Garden Village near St Austell.

The eco-friendly homes showed commitment to ending the housing crisis without a detrimental effect on the environment, the council said.

It is the largest purchase of the authority's new council housing programme.

The homes, which are still to be built, are expected to be handed over to the council over three to four years, with the first expected in a few months, the council said.

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They will be available for social and affordable rent to help local households.

Originally 100 of the homes bought were earmarked for sale on the open market, meaning there is now more than the original 35% affordable housing agreed in the planning process on the site.

The homes are built to have less of an impact on the environment

Olly Monk, Cornwall Council's Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning, said: "This council has committed to ending the housing crisis in Cornwall, and commercial acquisitions of low carbon homes like this, in sustainable locations, shows our commitment to doing whatever is necessary to provide homes that people in our communities can afford - without having a detrimental effect on the environment."

The eco-friendly homes will have air-source heat pumps and solar panels which it is estimated will use just 32% of the energy of an average house.