Home ownership dream comes within reach

First time buyers in Cornwall – the toughest place in Britain for young couples to get a foot on the housing ladder – are clamouring for shared-ownership schemes to beat the double whammy of low pay and sky-high house prices.

Cornwall remains particularly hard hit on the property front with incomes below the national average, and property prices – even in the house price slump – generally more expensive than other regions.

“We believe strongly that people should have the opportunity to live in the communities where they were born and bred and are therefore committed to providing new affordable homes in rural communities,” said chief executive Robert Nettleton.

Working in Partnership with the local authority, Coastline imposes a number of restrictions on applicants to ensure the shared-ownership houses and flats go to genuinely local people in housing need.

“People have to demonstrate that they have local connections, such as residential qualifications, or having close family in the area,” added Robert Nettleton.

Coastline’s newest development – at Lewannick, near Launceston – has just begun, and will offer properties ranging from two, three and four bedroom houses and bungalows, which can be rented or part-owned.

A similar scheme in St Ives, completed recently, and the shared ownership homes were nine times over subscribed.

The latest Lewannick development is costing £2.3 million, and has been made possible thanks to funding from the Homes and Communities Agency, which provided £1m, and Cornwall Council, which supplied £100,000.

The homes will be cheap to run, having solar panels and radically improved levels of insulation. Energy efficient air source heat pumps will also be used to provide heating and hot water.