CORNWALL Council is to buy more land to build homes, following in the footsteps of developments at two sites in South East Cornwall.

And councillors have agreed a plan to charge housing developers a levy to help pay for infrastructure projects.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the full council this week.

Councillors voted to spend more money buying strategic sites to build more homes for local people, including one in Launceston. The sites will be bought under the council’s Housing Development Programme (HDP). ?The HDP will see the council investing up to £200 million in building and providing 1,000 new homes on sites across Cornwall.

The developments will be a mix of homes for private market rental, affordable rent, shared ownership and private market.

The first 113 homes to buy or rent, built on pilot sites in Tolvaddon and Bodmin, are set to be ready later this year. ?The site in Launceston will be added to other housing development sites in Liskeard and Torpoint which the council already owns.?Cabinet homes spokesperson Andrew Mitchell said: ‘Cornwall needs more homes – both to rent and to buy - for local people with a genuine housing need.

‘This is about providing good quality homes that people want to live in, with space, gardens, parking and which are well designed with low energy costs.’

The council also agreed the Cornwall Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

The CIL will apply to planning applications approved from January 2019 and will raise funds from new housing and commercial developments to be spent on a wide range of infrastructure projects to help communities address the impact of development. 

Developers will get certainty up front about the charges they will have to contribute to infrastructure and facilities to support the growth of communities.

Planning and economy spokesperson Bob Egerton said: ‘It is right that developers help to pay for the facilities that are needed as a result of their development of a piece of land.

‘This levy on new developments will sit alongside existing contributions that developers are required to make, and help to deliver infrastructure where it is most needed, which is not always in the immediate area of the development.

‘A proportion, 15-25%, of the levy raised in a town or parish council area will be given back to that local council to use in a way that best serves the needs of their communities. The remainder of the money raised will be allocated to support projects across Cornwall.

‘We will shortly be consulting town and parish councils on the most appropriate method for deciding which projects should be supported with CIL monies. A report will be coming to cabinet later in the year with recommendations on how this should be done.’