28th July 2025

Work is underway in Nansledan, Newquay, on the Duchy of Cornwall’s first ever housing project to directly address homelessness, with wrap around care, which was first announced by HRH The Duke of Cornwall last year. The innovative low carbon project is being delivered alongside Cornish charity St Petrocs and will provide 24 high quality homes with wrap around support for local people experiencing homelessness.

The first phase comprises high quality temporary accommodation for 16 individuals, with two four-bedroomed homes and eight one-bedroomed apartments. Completion is anticipated by Spring 2026.

Land for the homes is being provided by the Duchy of Cornwall as part of its Nansledan development, which is an urban extension to Newquay on the North Cornwall coast. The Duchy is using its design and development management expertise to guide the delivery of the project, which is being built by one of Nansledan’s housebuilders, CG Fry & Son.

The project harnesses guidance from Prince William and The Royal Foundation’s Homewards programme – of which The Duchy is an Activator partner – which aims to demonstrate it is possible to end homelessness. As well as being involved in the design of this project, Homewards is also evaluating the work to share learnings with the six Homewards locations across the UK who are also designing Innovative Housing Projects as part of the five year programme. Construction is being funded by The Duke of Cornwall’s Charitable Foundation.

St Petrocs, which has been working in Cornwall for 40 years, will manage the scheme and help residents access wrap around support, build community connections through training and employment and ultimately find permanent accommodation. They’ll also work with local organisations such as the neighbouring community hub, Newquay Orchard.

Under the Duchy of Cornwall’s direction, the homes are being built to exacting low carbon standards both for the embodied carbon involved in their construction and the amount of carbon involved in running them, so that future costs for St Petrocs and environmental impact can be kept to a minimum.

"This is a pioneering initiative in several respects. It marks a first for the Duchy in addressing homelessness and supporting local people on a path toward secure, long-term housing. At the same time, it deepens our understanding of low-carbon building techniques as part of our commitment to reaching net zero. We hope the insights gained here will prove valuable and inspire similar efforts across the UK."

“Having gone through a rigorous design process which has included input from St Petrocs’ staff, volunteers and clients, it is tremendously exciting to see the construction work commencing. This development scheme will provide much needed additional capacity to St Petrocs’ supported accommodation service, complementing our existing presence in the Newquay area and across Cornwall. The focus of this scheme will be on breaking the cycle of homelessness through a person-centred approach and providing community-based opportunities for people to progress away from homelessness for good.”

The project will pilot a range of low carbon building materials and techniques. For the foundations of the new homes, ultra low carbon cement with a carbon footprint about one sixth of that of traditional cement is being used through a partnership of UK company CemBlend and Cornish aggregates company Maen Karne. The groundworks contractor on the project is Steve Hoskin Construction.

Sydenhams Timber Engineering is providing the timber frames for the development in partnership with cleantech company GRWN Group. The system includes pre-fabricated panels packed with industrial hemp insulation grown in the UK to create a super-insulated shell that requires very little heating or cooling. The homes will be all-electric and feature roof-mounted solar panels.