COMMUNITY CONSULTATIONS

Yes. Cornwall Community Land Trust (and the voluntary local community groups and parish councils it has worked in partnership with) has an outstanding track record of delivering high-quality, genuinely-affordable, energy-efficient homes which are available for rent and purchase (Discounted Sales & Shared Ownership) around Cornwall and on the Isles of Scilly. Since established in 2007, it has delivered nearly 300 homes already in 27 projects. The latest which featured in the media was celebrated with actor Jenny Agutter at Ruan Minor (a project of all-affordable rented homes delivered in partnership with the local village Community Land Trust) at Easter this year. Local residents who feared this may never come true are now in secure affordable homes. It is acknowledged that the term “Affordable” is a catch all term and means something different to everyone. The Government defines affordable housing as “social rented, affordable rented and intermediate housing provided to specified eligible households whose needs are not met by the market”. Eligibility is determined with regard to local incomes and local house prices, and detailed guidance about eligibility is published by Cornwall Council.

This scheme proses to provide a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom homes, 20 of which will be Affordable or Social Rent and 9 will be Shared Ownership homes – ie where homes are available for part purchase (purchasers may buy as little as 10% of the market value).

Affordable homes are rented above social rent but below market rents and are set at so they will not be above “housing benefit” (or local housing allowance) levels, or 80% of market levels, whichever is lower. The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is based upon how many people are within the household and where you live and although administered by Cornwall Council it is determined by the Governments Valuation Office Agency Rent Officers.

CCLT will make the case to Homes England for additional grant aid for this project to bring rent levels even lower to “Social Rent” ie around 60% of market levels.

This is a part buy and part rent of an affordable home. The applicant purchases a proportion of the open market value – anything from 10 and 75%. Residual rent is paid on the remaining share. Purchasers have the option to buy further shares, up to 75%.

It is important to say that no open market homes are included in the development.

CCLT and NHWP are aware of the challenges of Paul/Chywoone Hill, and which exist whether or not this project goes ahead. We have commissioned a professional review of the impact of our project using a professional highways-industry standard (travel calculator) methodology and microsimulation modelling. These demonstrate the development will have such a small impact on traffic levels up and down the hill it will be imperceptible. In the worst-case scenario (assuming all the homes are occupied by families which bring new vehicles to the area – even though this will not be the case) this will add up to 7 seconds to the average journey time on the full length of the hill at the busiest ‘rush-hour’ times in the morning and afternoon. However, our evidence strongly suggests at least a third of the properties will be occupied by families who are currently already living in over-crowded circumstances in the area, and which will therefore not cause any further vehicle movements on the hill than they do at present. That would therefore cut the travel calculator estimate by a third as well.

In addition, the HWP has offered to work with Penzance Town Council and Cornwall Council to support further traffic and parking improvements on the hill, including that CCLT would make a contribution towards physical measures where these can be agreed and if needed.

No. There are none. CCLT and the local community Housing Working Party (HWP) explored alternatives, and in detail. This included sites such as PZ-H12 in the Cornwall Site Allocations DPD. This site was discounted as a potential deliverable scheme due to a number of constraints, not least that the site is open market led and would only provide at best 30% affordable housing.

No. If this was a significant consideration then none of the many homes developed at, Gurnick Road, Forbes Road, on Chywoone Hill, nor in Paul etc in recent decades presumably would have been permitted.

No. CCLT is a not-for-profit charity. It is regulated as a Registered Provider of social housing and by the Financial Conduct Authority; and is an Investment Partner of Homes England. It is governed by a Board of volunteers who include development and property professionals of significant standing in Cornwall who give their time freely because they back CCLT, its charitable aims and ethos of providing affordable homes for local people and because it has an outstanding record of delivering projects of this nature in perpetuity. Unlike private developers CCLT does not calculate to take a “developer’s profit” from its projects. It employs highly committed professionals who are motivated in delivering projects which improve the lives of the families who are helped with good-quality, genuinely affordable and secure accommodation but who are not rewarded on any “performance-related” or other financial incentive basis.

No. There have been no such agreements, proposals or plans to develop any of the adjoining land. CCLT has an agreement with the landowner only in respect of the site in question, and for an all-affordable housing project. There is a Cornwall Council requirement that new roads (like that which serves this development) will not be ‘adopted’ by the Council unless it both meets standards AND that the road is not closed into a cul-de-sac. i.e., in order for the road to be adopted, we are therefore required to bring the road to the edge of the site as laid out.

CCLT has always set high standards of biodiversity mitigation and enhancement, as an essential part of its construction standards. We therefore take every action available to mitigate the impact of any of our projects on the wildlife of the area. There will be a biodiversity net gain on the site (i.e. that an independent ecologist will confirm that we will replace more wildlife than we remove/displace. If we are unable to achieve a 10% net gain on site, we will make a financial contribution to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust to achieve this gain on a nearby site managed by the Trust. In addition, CCLT includes hedgehog highway, bird boxes, bee bricks, bat boxes, swift terraces etc within the construction of the properties themselves.

All our landscaping design plans and ecological reports are available to view on the Cornwall Councils website.

This has been carefully considered in the design of the site and buildings, so to minimise any such impact. We commissioned a Landscape Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) to review any effects the development may have on views and on the landscape. Initial advice from the assessment along with comments from planning consultees has resulted in a number of minor amendments to the original submitted scheme.

It is to be noted that the LVIA concluded that the proposed development would have little adverse impact on the character of the local landscape or setting of Newlyn. Also, Natural England do not object to our application and the Landscape Officer has recently commented to say, “The submitted proposals have positively responded to earlier landscape comments submitted on 3rd June 2021. No further landscape and visual issues are raised in relation to this development.”

We are in the midst of a ‘housing emergency’. Penzance Town Council recently published an excellent report “Trapped” (March 2022) on the housing problems facing local families. This also follows a report on the Penzance area Housing Crisis prepared by a Citizen’s Panel established by the Cornwall Independent Poverty Forum and the local Anglican Church (in December 2019) and which also highlighted the seriousness of the local housing crisis.

Cornwall Council’s Home Choice register currently identifies a housing need of over 1000 in the Penzance Parish and with at least 200 identifying Newlyn as their local choice.

**It should be noted that the Homechoice Register provides the need at a Parish level. Newlyn along with Heamoor and Gulval is included within the Parish of Penzance.**

The Newlyn Housing Working Party undertook a snap-shot survey in early 2021 to confirm the extent of and nature of need in the Newlyn area. There is no doubt that there is a very high level of housing need in the parish. Cornwall Council’s affordable housing team SUPPORT our proposal for an affordable led housing development for 29 dwellings.

There is a large and silent majority of people – especially the hundreds of local people and families in need who feel disenfranchised from the discourse on the planning portal. Many have recoiled from suggestions that they themselves write for fear of being criticised or that their landlord/lady will evict them. This is a very real fear, one which we understand this, as these families are in a vulnerable and insecure situation. They understandably do not wish to risk making their circumstances even worse. We undertook a 2-stage survey of local residents in January and March 2021. This first a housing needs survey which elicited 173 responses. One of the questions we asked was whether they would support affordable homes in Newlyn to meet local need. A substantial majority of 84% stated that they would with 4.5 % against and 12% uncertain. Demonstrating strong support for a new development providing affordable homes in Newlyn.

The Environment Agency have reviewed our plans and have no objection to our development. They have recommended the following planning condition is included:

“The development hereby permitted must not be commenced until such time as a scheme to improve the existing surface water disposal system has been submitted to, and approved in writing by, the LLFA The scheme shall be fully implemented and subsequently maintained, in accordance with the scheme’s timing/ phasing arrangements, or within any other period as may subsequently be agreed, in writing, by the LLFA.”

This will prevent flooding by ensuring the satisfactory storage of/ disposal of surface water from the site.