Housing
70% of the proposed land use in the scheme is residential. The intention is to offer mixed types and tenures across the development to cater to different needs. Truro suffers from a shortage of city centre living including private rental accommodation. 18,000 people commute into the city each day for work due to the lack of housing at affordable prices. The scheme will provide 35% affordable housing of mixed tenure including allocation for key workers and later living. Wheelchair accessible homes will be based on need and will be across the tenures. The Pydar development will significantly contribute to Truro’s local affordable housing need (currently over 700 households registered on Homechoice).
Housing breakdown
Residential – 70% of the land use is residential
Total homes (mixed type and tenure) = 320
Affordable homes (35%) = 112
Private homes (65%) = 208
Student bed spaces = Up to 400
35% affordable housing (112 homes) consists of:
Affordable rent (general needs, key workers, later living)
Intermediate - Shared ownership / Discount market sale (General needs)
65% private housing (208) homes:
Private Rent (General needs, Later Living)
Private Sale (General needs, Later Living)
Will there be Council housing within the development?
The development will deliver 35% affordable housing (112 homes). It is yet to be determined if the affordable housing provision will be owned and delivered by Cornwall Housing Ltd and this will be explored further if the application is approved.
Who will want to live in the development?
The development will attract a range of different people such as key workers, business owners, families, young couples, retired couples and young professionals. We have produced some user profiles to help understand what would attract people to live in the heart of the city. User profiles can be downloaded here.
Will it be possible to limit the housing becoming second homes?
There a no current policies in place that will prevent Pydar housing from becoming 2nd homes. Developers are not able to restrict this. We will however ensure new homes on Pydar will only be marketed locally and will not be listed on the national property sites such as Rightmove and Zoopla. This will help limit properties being bought as second homes. Only 1/3 of the homes on the development will be private sale units, which again will reduce the likelihood of 2nd homes.
Who will be able to access the affordable homes?
Affordable homes to rent will only be made available to local people who are eligible to register on Cornwall Homechoice and meet the local letting plan for the development. Applicants must satisfy criteria regarding local connection to Truro.
What affordable housing mix will be on offer?
We are currently at the Outline stage and a lot of the detail still needs to be planned. We are working closely with the Affordable Housing Team and the intention is to secure the best affordable housing possible during the future design stages of the application. The Affordable Housing Team have indicated that they would expect to see the majority of flats as 1 and 2 bed units. 3 bed units would be considered if there is access to a private garden. Housing need is highest for 1 and 2 bed dwellings, and we are aspiring to help meet some of this need in our scheme.
Where can I register my interest in new homes at Pydar?
We are currently at the early stages of the development and at the moment, we only have what’s called ‘Outline’ Planning Permission. What that means is that there is much more work to do to design how the buildings will look, what materials will be used and how they will be laid out. This work is taking place over the coming months.
As we’re still at this relatively early stage, the details on how housing will be made available hasn’t yet been agreed. We can say however that we are working very closely with Cornwall Council and Cornwall Housing to ensure that their allocation policies and rules are followed.
For affordable housing within the development, there will be the same criteria to assess needs and things such as local connections to help ensure the homes are provided to the most appropriate people and families.
If you haven’t done so already, we suggest looking at the Cornwall Housing website and the Find a Home page for useful information on housing.