By Rashleigh MacFarlane

Cornwall appears unlikely to be the site of any of the government’s 12 “New Towns” announced today.

The closest location in the South West seems to be Exeter.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised that construction will be underway by the end of the current Parliament.

Each New Town will comprise at least 10,000 homes.

The largest single development in Cornwall currently is the stalled Langarth “garden village” which is due to see the construction of 3,800 – but no-one would bet on when.

Talked about since 2017, the first brick has still to be laid.

Cornwall is nevertheless still expected to build 4,500 homes per year.  Landowners have offered 26,000 acres which they would like to develop.  County Hall refuses to say where.

The government is looking to new regional Mayoral Development Corporations to drive its housing ambitions.

Cornwall Council is, officially, opposed to joining any such regional authority and as such is now in the “slow lane” for devolution.

Housing schemes looks set to continue as piecemeal and ad hoc, determined by the whims of landowners and without any coherent strategy for infrastructure such as schools, hospitals or sewage disposal.

rashleighmacfarlane@cornwallreports.co.uk