The council has acquired a property in Hugh Town and has now received planning approval to convert it into 3 dwellings in response to a critical need for social housing.
The property, ‘April Cottage’ located on Church Road, was purchased this month for £745,000. It will now be converted into two 2-bed homes and one 1-bed home. Works to create the new dwellings are expected to be completed by the end of March 2022. This housing development is intended to help alleviate the increased pressure on the housing market that the islands are currently experiencing.
The Council is working with Homes England to apply for funding to support this work via the Affordable Homes Programme (2021-2026).
Councillor Tim Dean, Lead Member for Housing and Corporate Estate, said: “I am pleased that the council is able to make some progress towards addressing the urgent need for housing on the islands. Whilst this is a positive development, it will not fix the short-term housing issues on Scilly and we still need to secure more housing as a matter of urgency. I want to urge anybody who may have property available for rental to respond to our housing plea – we would be very grateful.”
Urgent housing plea
The Council is asking anybody who is able to provide housing on Scilly for rental on a long-term basis to contact us as soon as possible. We are seeking properties of any size in order to meet our urgent housing requirements.
If you think you can help, please get in touch as soon as possible at 01720 424440 or Housing@scilly.gov.uk. Thank you.