A NEW development of affordable homes for local people is closer to completion after a £450,000 grant from Homes England.

Cornwall Council is building the 46 houses for private rent, shared ownership and affordable rent at Maudlin Farm in Liskeard.

The grant money will be used for groundworks at the site.

Andrew Mitchell, Cornwall Council’s cabinet portfolio holder for homes said: ’Cornwall needs more good quality homes, both to rent and to buy, and the market alone can’t meet this demand.

’This is about providing good quality healthy homes that people who live and work in Cornwall want to move in to, with space, gardens, parking and which are well designed to be low carbon and with low energy costs.’

Cornwall Councillor for Liskeard East Sally Hawken said: ’This new development at Maudlin Farm is important for Liskeard as people who live and work locally will be able to afford to live in them and remain in the area near to their family and friends.’

The new homes will be delivered by Treveth, a partnership set up by the Council to create new homes and commercial developments to benefit people who live and work in Cornwall.

Treveth (Cornish for ’homestead’) will be building 600 homes in the coming years. Houses in Bodmin have already been built, with more to come in the town, as well as in Launceston.

The development will deliver a mix of property sizes, types and tenures, with the majority for private rent and with three-year tenancies as standard.

Solar energy panels and renewable heating systems will be provided on all the properties in line with the Council’s commitment to tackle climate change.

Construction in Liskeard will start later this year with the first homes available by the end of 2021.