St Ives Community Land Trust’s Old Vicarage Flats project in Street-an-Pol, which will provide six vital, permanently affordable rental homes, has been included in the St Ives Town Fund’s plan currently being assessed by the Government.
St Ives is one of four towns in Cornwall been chosen by the Government to receive up to £25 million in funding.
The Old Vicarage Flats project is one of the 43 overall submissions that the St Ives Town Fund board has put forward to the Government to consider. The St Ives Town Fund Board heard from residents that it wanted to favour affordable housing through the Community Land Trust.
Jill Block, St Ives CLT Secretary said, “We are pleased to be part of the Town Fund as it is one step closer in achieving this project.
We aim to provide two 1-bedroom flats and four 2-bedroom flats and it is our ambition to charge £96 per week for a 1-bedroom flat and £160 per week for a 2-bedroom flat.
Our tenants will enjoy lower energy bills and we will have contributed to wider environmen- tal improvement. The flats will be available for rental as affordable housing and protected for the benefit of the community through the asset-lock protection in our Rules.
We are, however, disappointed that the board decided not to include our application for funding for the Old Town Fire Station (the former St John Ambulance Station in St Andrew’s Street). Although we haven’t been successful in being included in the St Ives Town Fund, we are still progressing with this project, which is to offer workspaces to arts and crafts businesses at affordable rates and access to business support”
Downloadable press release:
PRESS RELEASE – Town Fund application (PDF – 137KB)