Housing pods provide emergency accommodation in Cornwall

Work is set to begin on the latest site to be used to expand Cornwall council’s emergency accommodation provision, after it announced plans in June to end the use of hotels and short-term accommodation to house those in urgent need.

18 new cabins have been delivered to Rosewarne Long Stay Car Park in Camborne, building on the ongoing installation of 21 self-contained cabins at the Council’s Truro headquarters.

Almost half of the spaces in the long stay car park will remain available for parking once the site is up and running, and there will be 24/7 on-site security.

Around 1,000 people, from single-person households to families, are currently in temporary or emergency accommodation in Cornwall.

Olly Monk, the Council’s portfolio holder for housing and planning, said: ‘We promised to address the issue of emergency accommodation as a matter of urgency and that is what we are doing. Work is under way at New County Hall and we have recently taken delivery of a further 18 pods for another temporary housing site in Camborne.

‘Our emergency schemes in Truro and Penzance have been overwhelmingly successful since they were installed at the height of the pandemic, giving vulnerable people a safe and reliable place to stay, without the threat of being asked to leave at short notice, as can happen with hotels and B&Bs.

‘While these sites are temporary, there is a huge amount of work that goes on to bring them to fruition from our in-house Housing Delivery Team, our construction partners, Cormac, and from staff to manage the sites and support those living there. I’m immensely proud of everything they represent, and how much support it means we can give to those that need it.’

He added: ‘Temporary sites like this are important as they allow us time to implement more long-term solutions, such as our landmark new move-on scheme that we’re just about to start building at Cowlins Mill in Pool, as well as our flagship ‘Somewhere Safe to Stay Hub’ that we’re building at Chough House in Truro.

‘We are going to provide as many affordable homes to rent and buy as possible, with many of these being new council housing for social rent. We are also looking at ways that we can work with our established Registered Provider partners to accelerate housing delivery, too.’

In related news, council leaders have restated their commitment to helping residents, as Cornwall’s housing sector experiences unprecedented pressure.

Photo supplied by Cornwall Council