A Cornish housebuilder is planning to deliver 50 affordable homes across two developments in the county, in a move designed to help meet surging local demand for low-cost housing. Legacy Properties, a family-owned developer based in Cornwall, has partnered with the not-for-profit housing association Ocean Housing to bring the properties forward at The Grange in Goonhavern, near Newquay, and The Paddocks in Trispen, near Truro. The first affordable homes at both sites are expected to be handed over to Ocean Housing in the spring of 2027.
The Grange, Goonhavern
The Goonhavern scheme represents the second and final phase of Legacy’s wider development. The overall Grange site comprises 70 homes in total; the first phase of 30 homes is already complete and fully reserved. In this second phase, Legacy will deliver 23 affordable homes as part of a 40-home scheme. The affordable element will include a mix of one-bedroom apartments, two-to-four-bedroom houses, and two wheelchair-accessible bungalows. All 23 properties will be available for affordable rent. The development is built to modern energy-efficiency standards and includes features such as Miele appliances, wine coolers, Bluetooth speakers, underfloor heating, air-source heat pumps, photovoltaic roof panels for renewable energy, and electric vehicle charging provision. Locally sourced materials, natural slate roofs, and enhanced Cornish hedgerows have been used, with brick wildlife homes made from recycled Cornish clay included in every house. A Section 106 agreement associated with The Grange has generated £155,000 in financial contributions directed towards healthcare, education, public open spaces, biodiversity, and the local school. The development is designed to integrate sensitively with the village setting, with new green space and local infrastructure.
The Paddocks, Trispen
The second development, The Paddocks in Trispen, will provide 27 affordable homes within a wider scheme of 80 homes. The affordable element will feature a mix of one-to-four-bedroom houses, bungalows, and apartments, and will be available under both social rent and shared ownership tenures. The development received full planning permission earlier in 2025, and construction is due to begin early in 2026. Legacy Properties formed a joint venture with Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) for the Trispen site, supported by £2.5 million in equity investment from HGP and a £20 million loan from Pluto Finance. The scheme includes new public open space, rewilding areas, a cycle link, and a traditional Cornish “Plen-an-Gwari” playing place. Contributions from a Section 106 agreement total more than £560,000, including over £180,000 for education and healthcare. The name “The Paddocks” was chosen through a competition with pupils from St Erme with Trispen Community Primary School. Like the Goonhavern site, The Paddocks will incorporate locally sourced materials, wildlife features, and modern energy-efficient design.
Types of affordable housing and eligibility
The two developments will offer homes under three different tenure models: affordable rent, social rent, and shared ownership, each targeting households who would otherwise struggle to secure a home on the open market. Affordable rent is typically set at up to 80 per cent of local market rents, while social rent is a lower, formula-based rent determined by national guidelines and is generally more deeply subsidised. Shared ownership allows households to purchase a partial share of a property — usually between 25 per cent and 75 per cent — and pay rent on the remaining portion owned by the housing provider, with options to buy further shares over time. Under Cornwall Council’s affordable home ownership policy, eligibility criteria for affordable housing typically require applicants to have a local connection to Cornwall, to be in housing need, to be unable to afford a suitable home on the open market, and to have a joint household income of less than £80,000. For shared ownership, gross household income must generally be below £60,000, with potential exceptions. Applicants are expected to liquidate capital assets where possible. The council also operates Cornwall Homechoice, the housing register through which people apply for council homes and affordable housing. As of the latest figures, over 22,000 people are registered on the system, with around half having a one-bedroom housing need, and more than 1,700 households are in temporary accommodation. Ocean Housing, which will manage the affordable properties at both sites, is a not-for-profit social housing association founded in 2000. It manages around 4,000 to 5,000 residential properties across Cornwall and has invested almost £200 million into the local economy. The association aims to deliver 1,000 homes between 2021 and 2030.
‘Genuinely affordable’
Nick Long, managing director at Legacy Properties, said: “Delivering affordable homes is a fundamental part of creating balanced, sustainable communities. Partnering with Ocean Housing at both Goonhavern and Trispen ensures these homes will be genuinely affordable and managed by an organisation with strong local knowledge and a long-term commitment to Cornwall. We’re proud to be working together to support local people through these developments.”
Jitinder Takhar, chief executive of Ocean Housing, said the affordable properties would provide “much-needed permanent homes” for local people and would allow them to stay close to the community. “Over the last few years Cornwall has seen a significant rise in the numbers of individuals and families needing affordable housing,” she said. “High demand and limited housing choices has seen many more individuals and families with children faced with the possibility of being homeless or living in temporary accommodation. That’s why we’re really pleased to be partnering with Legacy Properties to bring affordable homes to Goonhavern and Trispen.”
Both developments have been designed to meet modern energy-efficiency standards and to integrate sensitively with their village settings, alongside new green space and local infrastructure. The homes are expected to comply with the Future Homes Standard, which comes into force from March 2027 and aims for new homes to be “zero carbon ready,” with high levels of fabric efficiency and low-carbon heating systems.
