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 it established in 2007, it has delivered nearly 300 homes already in 27 projects.

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 proposes to provide a mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes, 3 of which will be Shared Ownership homes and 6 will either be Affordable or Social Rent.

Shared Ownership

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%.

Affordable Rent

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” i.e. around 60% of market levels.

Treskerby comes under Kernow West.

The current LHA rates are listed in the table below.

To note these are reviewed in April each year.

The proposed mix of house-types, sizes and tenures, which accords with Cornwall Council’s Affordable Housing SPD and has been agreed by the Council’s Affordable Housing Team Officer, is as follows:

Affordable rent

2 x 1 bed 2 person bungalow – Plots 1 & 2

1 x 2 bed 4 person houses – Plot 3

2 x 3 bed 5 person houses – Plots 7 & 8

1 x 4 bed 6 person houses – Plot 9

Total 6

Shared Ownership

2 x 2 bed 4 person houses – Plots 5 & 6

1 x 3 bed 6 person houses – Plot 4

Total 3

Affordable housing is aimed at those who are either first time buyers, unable to buy a home on the open market or are looking to rent but cannot afford to pay market rents.

The eligibility criterion to qualify for an affordable home includes the following:

• Household income must be such that it is not possible to afford to buy or rent a property on the open market
• There must be a local connection to the immediate area

Applicants are assessed on their suitability to the scheme as each development is different.

Restrictions apply to our homes in order to prioritise local families. They can only be used to house people in need with a local connection to the ‘Primary’ Town of Redruth. With a view to give preference to those living within the Treskerby & Mount Ambrose Area. (In the unlikely event that insufficient candidates come forward with a strong local connection the option will ‘cascade’ out to the adjoining parishes.

An applicant will be considered ‘local’ if they have at least one connections stated in the Section 106 Agreement:

The criteria are usually set out as follows:

• being permanently resident therein for a continuous period of at least three years immediately prior to Advertising;
• being formerly permanently resident therein for a continuous period of five years;having his or her place of permanent work (normally regarded as 16 hours or more a week and not including seasonal employment) for a continuous period of at least three years immediately prior to Advertising;
• having a connection through a close family member (normally mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter) where the family member is currently resident and has been so for a continuous period of at least five years immediately prior to advertising and where there is independent evidence that the family member is in need of or can give support for the foreseeable future or on an ongoing basis.

Housing Need is established through Parish surveys and other housing need surveys, which provide data on housing needs at a local level. Housing need can also be established through data from the Cornwall Council Home Choice Registered and Help to Buy South.

Even at this early stage we recommend those interested in the rental properties to register on:

Cornwall Homechoice - www.cornwallhomechoice.org.uk or 0300 1234 161

Yes, we want to keep the community involved in our schemes and hold community events where we provide local members the opportunity to view the scheme designs, provide their comments and feedback on them. We take these comments into consideration and where possible incorporate the comments in our proposal.

It is also an opportunity for people to find out how they can apply for the proposed homes and helps us to gauge the level of housing need within the area and the types of homes needed.

As defined under the National Planning Policy Framework Rural Exception Sites are:

“Small sites used for affordable housing in perpetuity where sites would not normally be used for housing. Rural exception sites seek to address the needs of the local community by accommodating households who are either current residents or have an existing family or employment connection. A proportion of market homes may be allowed on the site at the local planning authority’s discretion, for example where essential to enable the delivery of affordable units without grant funding.”

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.

Cornwall Council’s current Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) planning requirements for major developments is a 10% increase.

We are currently looking at 12.49% increase in Habitat units and a 179.99% increase in Hedgerow units.

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.

Planning obligations, also known as Section 106 agreements (based on that section of The 1990 Town & Country Planning Act) are private agreements made between local authorities and developers. Planning obligations run with the land, are legally binding and enforceable.

In affordable housing terms it amongst other things sets out the tenure and mix of affordable housing on the site and defines the local connection criteria and eligibility criteria for the purchase or tenant.

The Section 106 Agreement seeks to ensure that the affordable homes remain affordable. Where a Community Land Trust is involved they can also “safeguard” affordability by using resale price covenants or holding the freehold on rented dwellings in an asset lock. Where affordable homes do leak on to the open market through the shared equity mechanisms, then the revenue from these is recycled to provide more affordable housing.