THE first homes in a new Government scheme offering discounted houses for local people and key workers have gone on sale.

The First Homes scheme will help local first-time buyers – many of whom will be key workers – onto the property ladder by offering homes at a discount of at least 30% compared to the market price.

That same percentage will then be passed on with the sale of the property to future first-time buyers, meaning homes will always be sold below market value – benefiting local communities, key workers, and families for generations to come.

The scheme will support local people who struggle to afford market prices in their area, but want to stay in the communities where they live and work.

The first First Homes properties went on the market as part of the first phase of an early delivery project in the East Midlands, with the Housing Secretary in attendance.

Further sites are set to launch across the country in the coming weeks. The Government says that a further 1,500 will enter the market from the autumn, with at least 10,000 homes a year being delivered in the years ahead and more if there is demand.

Delivery of the scheme is part of a wider pledge to "build one million new affordable and attractive homes" in this Parliament and help put home ownership within reach for people across the country.

Major high-street lenders Halifax and Nationwide Building Society, along with local building societies and community lenders, announced that they will be offering high loan-to-value mortgages against First Homes to support the roll-out of the scheme.

There are a range of Government schemes available to aspiring home-owners to help them get their foot on the housing ladder.

First-time buyers can find the right scheme for them via the Own Your Home website, which provides a single gateway for all routes to home ownership.

Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: “Enabling more people to buy their own homes is at the heart of the mission of this Government, and First Homes will offer a realistic and affordable route into home ownership for even more people who want to own their own home. Thanks to First Homes, we will offer more homes to local people and families, providing a route for first-time buyers to stay in their local areas rather than being forced out due to rising prices.”

Councils will also be able to prioritise the homes for key workers who have been looking to get on the housing ladder while supporting their community throughout the pandemic. Each individual local authority can set a local connection test to determine who should be prioritised for the scheme based on the needs of their communities.

But the Government’s pledges on affordable housing are not adequate in Cornwall, according to the former portfolio holder for Homes Andrew Mitchell. He’s warned the Government that a housing crisis in the county is "out of control".

The cost of housing has spiralled in recent months and there has been a severe lack of properties available to rent. And with the ban on evictions put in place by the Government during the COVID-19 pandemic being lifted, Cllr Mitchell fears the situation is about to get worse.

He said: “It is like somebody has had a bonfire going for a while and has now thrown three gallons of petrol on it and it is now an inferno.

“We need to start looking at whether what is happening now is just a bit of overheating and will disappear as we come out of lockdown or if we need to accept that this is the new normal in Cornwall.”

Cllr Mitchell has argued that the current "affordable" rate of 80% of market value needs to be slashed to 50% to make houses truly affordable for local people in Cornwall.