Cornwall Council is considering building extra-care homes for older people after revealing there was a need for more than 3,500 new ones in Cornwall, writes Richard Whitehouse, local democracy reporter.

The council is now drawing up a strategy for how to tackle the problem of a lack of extra-care homes and looking to work with a “strategic partner” to deliver them.

However the council has also said that if it is unable to work with developers to provide the homes then it may have to build them itself.

A strategic document is set to go to the council’s economic growth and development overview and scrutiny committee this week.

It suggests that a first phase of extra care homes should be put into action to build 750 initially.

These would be spread across Cornwall with 50 in each of Penzance, Helston, St Ives, Hayle, Falmouth, Redruth, Truro, St Austell, Camborne, Newquay, Liskeard/Launceston, Looe, Bodmin, Wadebridge/Padstow and Bude.

However the report recognises that this would only provide 21 per cent of the total 3,536 homes which are needed.