The first turf has been cut on a new development of 18 affordable homes in Crowntown near Helston, which will not only provide the much needed accommodation, but also a car park for the village school.

Social landlord Coastline Housing secured over £500,000 of funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to develop the properties, which will be a mix of flats and houses. The scheme will also include a large area of public space and the school car park.

Matt Ward, head of development at Coastline Housing, said: “This development will be next to the local school playing field and is expected to satisfy the demand for housing need in the Sithney parish for the foreseeable future.”

The new development will offer 12 properties for affordable rent and six homes for part-buy, part-rent, to help local people who wish to get a foot on the property ladder with a shared ownership home. The homes, being built by Kier Living, include a selection of one, two and three-bedroom properties, and are due for completion next spring.

Kelly Locke, marketing and communications manager at Kier Living, added: “This is a great opportunity to enable those wanting to own their own home, at realistic prices. We’re excited to be working with Coastline Housing on this development and providing fantastic new houses for the local community.”

Coastline Housing has developed over 100 new homes for local people in housing need over the past 12 months, marking its busiest year to date.

Many of the new homes Coastline completed this year have been built with the help of grant funding from Cornwall Council. In addition, over the three years from 2015 to 2018, the social landlord has secured over £10million in grant funding from the Homes and Communities Agency to provide a further 300 new homes in the county.

Anyone interested in applying for a shared ownership home with Coastline Housing can call the sales team on 01209 200200, or visit the website at coastlinehousing.co.uk/buy-home.