Plans to renovate the Old Vicarage Flats building in the heart of the town to provide six affordable flats for local people have taken a major step forward this week after St Ives Community Land Trust signed the Town Deal Funding Agreement for the capital works.
Awarded £750,000 from the Town Deal Fund, the Old Vicarage Flats project is the first community-led housing project to be delivered in the town centre. The project has now received its first payment of £464,381.
Gareth Jones, Vice Chair of the St Ives Town Deal Board, said: “We are delighted to see the Old Vicarage Flats project moving forward. As well as providing much-needed and genuinely affordable permanent homes for local people in the town centre, this project will also preserve an important historic building which has been at the core of our community for almost 200 years.”
Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council cabinet member for economy, said: “Our aim for the Town Deal funding is to support projects led by the community for the community. I’m pleased to see work can now begin on this project to provide affordable housing for local residents in a town where it is very much needed. This is the seventh project in
the town to be receiving a share of the Government’s £19.9million Town Deal funding which will bring lasting benefits for the residents and businesses in St Ives.”
Linda Taylor, Cornwall Council member representative for St Ives East, Lelant and Carbis Bay and Council Leader, said: “I am delighted that the Town Deal funding will support the creation of affordable housing. This shows how the Government’s Town Deal can revitalise vacant town centre properties and tackle persistent problems.
Congratulations to all involved and I look forward to seeing some of our local residents moving into their new homes.”
Known originally as the Parsonage and built in the late 1830’s, the building was home to the Vicars of St Ives until the early 1950’s when Canon Jenkin moved into a newly constructed vicarage off St Andrew’s Street. The building was then taken over by St Ives Borough Council who converted the upper stories into four flats while the ground floor was owned by Cornwall County Council and used by a number of local organisations, including a nursery, the local WI and camera club.
The Old Vicarage lay empty from 2016 until the local community through the St Ives Community Land Trust raised the funds to buy the property in 2019 with the aim of rescuing the historic building and converting it to provide much-needed affordable homes for the local community.
“We are keen to start work on the renovation and upgrading of the property and welcome the award of the Town Deal Capital Funding. It is a really exciting time to see significant progress being made, said Jill Block, Project Lead for St Ives Community Land Trust.
“The building is regarded with so much affection by many local residents, many of whom share their lifetime memories with us of occasions where it has been part of their lives in one way or another.”
Run and operated by the not-for-profit St Ives Community Land Trust, the project will provide two 1-bedroom and four 2-bedroom high-quality affordable flats for rent to local people.
The project has attracted widespread community support, successfully raising more than £240,000 through a community share issue in 2019 along with many individual donations. The Trust is supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund, Homes England and charitable groups and has also received donations from a number of local organisations such as the Rotary Club. It has also received a £30,000 grant from the Government’s Community Led Housing Fund and support from Cornwall Community Land Trust.
As well as enabling the St Ives Community Land Trust to purchase the building, this funding has enabled some preparatory works to be carried out in the building ahead of the start of the main project. These have included replacing the roof, repairing windows and removing asbestos along with some internal demolition work.
Nine projects in St Ives have been approved to share £19.9million from the UK Government’s Town Deal. These include plans to create a low-carbon transport system, support local business and jobs, and develop new skills and supply chains, as well as provide new and transformed housing and community assets.
Of these seven projects – St Ives Community Orchard and Nature Reserve, Leach Pottery, St Ives Guildhall renewal, Housing and Rugby Club relocation, St Ives Enterprise Grants scheme, St Ives Theatre refurbishment and the St Ives Community Land Trust Old Vicarage Flats renovation – have now received their first grant payments from the St Ives Town Deal Fund.
Part of the Levelling Up initiative, the Government’s Town Deal aims to support the towns regeneration and boost the economy in the regions. As the local Lead for the programme, Cornwall Council administrates the Fund and support the governance of the Board.
