Council partners with modular firm to tackle homelessness

Cornwall Council has entered into a landmark deal to buy SoloHaus ‘micro homes’ from The Hill Group to help tackle the housing crisis.

A total of 29 self-contained modular one-bedroom homes have arrived in Cornwall and are set to be deployed to sites in the coming months.

SoloHaus, the brainchild of Hill Group founder, Andy Hill, has been designed to provide exceptional self-contained accommodation in a supported environment for homeless individuals. 

Cornwall Council joins Cambridge City Council, Ipswich Borough Council, the London Borough of Haringey and several housing associations in the east of England in using SoloHaus to support those that need it.

Olly Monk, portfolio holder for housing and planning at Cornwall Council, comments: “This marks a real tipping point in this Council’s approach to solving the housing crisis. The opportunity to buy these units was only identified at the end of August and officers have worked extremely hard over a very short period to turn this around.”

“These homes are ready to be dropped onto sites and provide top-quality accommodation, with all fixtures and fittings included. They are an evolution of the cabin-style emergency accommodation that we have provided in Truro and Camborne and, over time, will remove the need for those type of pods, which we have leased.”

Monk says buying and deploying permanent quality modular homes such as these will allow the Council to put homes in key locations throughout the Duchy. “This is about us recognising that there are people in our communities that really need our help, and us providing them with an exceptional quality housing solution that can be deployed quickly,” he adds.

The homes are built in a factory in Shrewsbury and feature the highest standards of sustainability, efficiency, safety and durability. They can be easily transported on a lorry and the Council will be working with Cormac to deploy the new homes to sites throughout the Duchy.

Monk continues: “This is another example of what we’re doing to prevent using insecure B&B-style accommodation for vulnerable people. It’s about treating those people that need our help with dignity and respect.”

“Alongside everything else we’re doing – such as buying and refurbishing disused properties, purchasing homes at new developments and building innovative new ‘move-on’ sites – they will play a vital role in making sure that nobody need sleep rough in Cornwall or have to be housed in unreliable B&B or hotel accommodation.”

“I very much hope that this is the first batch of many SoloHaus units for us in Cornwall.”

With a 60-year minimum lifespan and construction warranty, SoloHaus homes have been designed with the help of leading homelessness charities to provide a safe, secure, comfortable and independent place to stay for people who are homeless or have been homeless in the recent past.

The units are provided fully furnished with a kitchen, living and dining area, bedroom and bathroom.

They are built to an attractive, Building Control-approved design and can be used in either a single storey or two-storey arrangement, with minimal groundworks, needing only electric, water and waste connections. They have integrated cabling for broadband and TV and a single air source heat pump provides warmth for six homes.