Prince William to build housing for homeless on Duchy of Cornwall land

The Prince of Wales has promised to build homes on Duchy of Cornwall land to help tackle homelessness.

The prince, who is also the Duke of Cornwall, will work with Cornish homelessness charity St Petrocs to provide 24 new homes in Nansledan, Newquay, it has been announced.

There will also be “wrap around support” for local people experiencing homelessness to help them get a permanent home, while the charity will help residents access training and employment opportunities.

The work will start in September with the first homes set for completion by autumn 2025, according to a statement from the Duchy of Cornwall.

The Duchy of Cornwall is a portfolio of land, property and investments valued at more than £1billion, which provide an income for the heir to the throne. William inherited the title of Duke of Cornwall from his father after Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

Ben Murphy, director of the estate, said the prince had asked the estate to “address the homelessness challenge within Cornwall and other areas where the estate resides”.

“Today, we are excited to reveal plans for this innovative housing project to help break the cycle of homelessness in the Newquay area,” he added.

“The shortage of social rent and private rented properties are widely considered to be the main causes of increasing homelessness across the country, which is why we are proud to launch this project alongside ambitious plans to unlock more affordable and attainable homes across our estate.”

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The Duchy of Cornwall said its future housing projects in Nansledan will aim to increase affordable housing from 30 per cent to 40 per cent, which means up to 200 more affordable homes will be built on top of the existing 1,020.

The Duchy also said it plans to create a Private Rented Scheme for Nansledan, which removes barriers to entry for those on lower incomes, provides longer term tenancies and transparent rent increases.

Henry Meacock, chief executive of St Petreocs, said working with the duchy will allow it to deliver a “truly exemplary project embedded in the local community” which will help get people out of homelessness.

“This partnership is an important step in achieving our shared goal of ending homelessness in Cornwall and across the UK,” he added.

The estate further committed to building more than 400 social rented homes and a further 475 affordable dwellings on its new development of South East Faversham in Kent.

The prince’s announcement follows praise from homeless charities last June, after he unveiled plans for a five-year-long project to tackle the escalating number of people without stable housing in the UK.

William is a patron of multiple homelessness charities, including Centrepoint, and The Passage, a homeless housing provider he first visited as a child with his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales.