The Conservative Administration at Cornwall Council has got to work, confirming an ambitious plan to deal with Cornwall’s temporary accommodation crisis, announcing plans to create Council-owned accommodation where local people in need can be housed without worrying about being asked to leave at a moment’s notice.
Solutions being looked at include purchasing around 100 park homes to be put on ‘pop-up’ sites, which would be able to house four people each and so provide a home for families.
Several locations around Cornwall – focusing on the places that are most in need and that are close to local services – have been identified and are currently in the process of being costed and designed.
Another accommodation type will be ‘Bunkabin’ self-contained units, such as those that have been successfully put in place by the Council in Truro and Penzance during the Covid response.
These are single-berth with cooking and shower facilities. A first batch of 30 more units will be arriving next month to be set-up, with more planned to follow, with various locations being considered.
Both of these moves will be on top of existing temporary accommodation currently used by the Council.
It is the Council’s aim to make the new park homes and cabins available as soon as possible.
The Council’s aim is to provide hundreds of beds this way by the autumn and then to eliminate the need to use short-term hotel provision by the end of this year.
In addition, the Council is in the process of acquiring and refurbishing more than 100 homes, primarily for families to provide medium-term temporary accommodation.
Cllr Olly Monk, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, said:
“After just over a month in post I am pleased that this Conservative Administration is already taking decisive action on the temporary accommodation crisis that eight years of the previous Lib Dem-Independent administration left Cornwall with.”
“They always talked about issues but in reality most of their so-called action amounted to nothing more than sending letters to the Government complaining about their situation, without using the resources they have available to do something about it.”
“We are acting responsibly and using council resources to provide council-owned accommodation for those who need it most, while looking to protect the public purse from the extortionate rates that the previous administration was only too happy to use via hotels and B&Bs.”
“This will be council-owned temporary accommodation, that will be immediately available and prioritised for local people.”
“Peace of mind for the people who need this accommodation and peace of mind for the Cornish taxpayer that we are spending your money wisely. This is a Conservative Administration that will get things done.”
