News from Cornwall Labour

Truro councillor in call for action on affordable local housing

A Truro councillor for Trehaverne ward today hit out at the Liberal Democrats lack of support for affordable local housing.

Charlotte MacKenzie represents Trehaverne ward – which includes the former Richard Lander School site – on Truro City Council. At a recent meeting, Truro City Council agreed to write to the consultation on the Truro and Threemilestone action plan calling for a fifty per cent target for affordable housing in all new developments. Liberal Democrat councillors voted against increasing the target, with one exception.

The draft action plan includes a target of 30 percent for most developments and 50 percent for land transferred from public to private ownership before development takes place.

Agents acting for the Liberal Democrat administration at County Hall wrote to the consultation asking for the target for affordable housing on the former Richard Lander School site to be reduced from 50 percent. A previous sale of the site fell through when the developer pulled out.

Charlotte Mackenzie said:

“I think Cornwall Council should retain ownership of all or most of this site so that it can be used entirely for social and low-cost housing. At the moment the Liberal Democrat led Council is behaving like a private sector landholder using commercial agents to try to undermine the community’s wish to meet the need for affordable local housing. If developers didn’t need to purchase the land, the development could start sooner and provide more social and low-cost housing at a lower unit cost as the price of land would be taken out of the development costs. The land would remain in public ownership as an asset for future generations.

“While the Council sits and waits for the future use of this site to be resolved, they are also not making best current use of the land which includes playing fields and other green spaces which could be used more as a local amenity.”

Other news from Cornwall Labour

• Hundreds sign Falmouth for Orders petition - 30 January 2012
• Labour and unions campaign for dredging the port of Falmouth - 18 January 2012
• Regional funding put at risk by ministers' failure to act - 8 January 2012