Looe residents welcome sale of council homes for £1

Residents say the sale of the coastguard flats for affordable housing should "happen across the country"

The sale of flats in Looe worth £640,000 for £1 to help ease Cornwall's housing crisis has been welcomed by residents.

Cornwall Council approved the sale of the 11 flats to a community land trust to avoid costly maintenance.

Councillors said the deal meant the properties would remain as affordable housing for local people.

One resident who has lived in the flats for more than a decade described the project as "wonderful".

Anne Edwards said she was pleased she would be able to stay at the coastguard flats, adding the scheme would help young people "who didn't have a hope in hell of getting a place in Looe".

"It will be lovely for youngsters to have somewhere to start their lives and I'm all for it," she said.

Flats residents Christine Hodgson and Anne Edwards have welcomed the project

Another tenant, Christine Hodgson, said it was wrong that some houses in Looe were empty for long periods because they were second homes.

Ms Hodgson said she wanted the project to "happen across the country" to help other areas.

The new owner of the flats, the Three Seas Trust, said it was aiming to spend about £1.5m making the Grade II-listed homes habitable, funded through government grants and a community share scheme.

The cottages will provide 11 one to two-bedroom properties, with rents at about £400 per month.

Rosie Tates says she is lucky to live in her cottage in Cawsand

Across Cornwall, there are 26,000 people on the housing waiting list.

Olly Monk, the county councillor responsible for housing, said the project in Looe was a creative solution for an area in "desperate need" of new affordable homes.

The village of Cawsand in south-east Cornwall saw a similar project three years ago.

The Peninsula Trust bought three council-owned coastguard cottages and renovated them.

Cawsand tenant Rosie Tates said the number of second homes in the village meant local people struggled to live where they grew up.

"When this came up, it was perfect. We're really lucky to live here," she said.