Cornwall delivered the second-highest number of affordable homes in England in 2020-21, the latest Government figures show.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published its latest housing statistics, which reveal that 814 affordable homes were completed in the Duchy in 2020-21.
View the statitics of the Government website
The London Borough of Newham topped the chart, with 1,275, while Tower Hamlets, also in London, was third with 804.
Further, it has been confirmed that Cornwall has seen the second-highest affordable housing delivery in England over the past decade, with 8,172 homes built between 2011-12 and 2020-21.
Tower Hamlets delivered the most, at 9,748, and Newham was third with 7,066.
Olly Monk, Cornwall Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning, said: “This is great news and shows that we are consistently delivering some of the highest levels of affordable housing in the country.
“I’d like to thank our Housing and Planning teams for everything they do to facilitate this, as well as partner Registered Providers – and developers – who have provided these homes for our residents.
“But there is more to do; we have ambitious plans for the future and we want to speed up delivery and deliver more overall, so that we can work towards consistently coming out top in the league tables in the future.
“However, it’s worth highlighting that this data shows the delivery of affordable housing is a continued challenge across the country and not a problem confined to Cornwall.”
Affordable housing covers a range of tenures – from social rent to affordable rent to shared ownership.
Social rent, also known as ‘council housing’, is the focus of Cornwall Council’s current development programme, such as the recently completed scheme at Veryan. Affordable rent is normally delivered by Registered Providers, and costs no more than 80 per cent of the average local market rent.
Shared Ownership is provided by both the Council and Registered Providers and allows families to buy a share of a home and pay a discounted rent on the remainder to take a step on the property ladder.
The latest figures show that there were 52,100 affordable homes delivered and 57,417 starts on site in England in 2020-21.
Tackling current housing pressures is a top priority for the Council.
The Council is also continuing work to:
- Buy homes for social housing
- Build more Council houses
- Support the provision of more affordable homes by housing associations for local people to rent or buy
- Ensure sites deliver affordable housing through the planning process
- Unlock the potential for town centres to be regenerated to provide more housing
- Support community-led organisations that want to deliver their own homes
- Offer loans to bring empty homes back into use
Story posted on January 5, 2022