Last June, Prince William couldn’t wait to step all over his father’s very first Trooping the Colour parade. William gave Roya Nikkhah an exclusive interview that weekend (Trooping weekend), all about his new groundbreaking, William-centered initiative in which he alone would “solve homelessness.” How would he solve it? By handing out £3 million in grants to various homeless organizations and adding at least three new layers of bureaucracy attached to the money. The whole thing might have been an okay story for William, if only he hadn’t run around, briefing every media outlet that he was going to “solve” everything and he is the savior of homeless people. The whole thing was dead on arrival – experts in the field blasted the program and blasted William. He’s barely mentioned Homewards since he turned up in Aberdeen to absolutely zero crowds. Well, I guess Homewards has been successfully buried (RIP) and now he’s got a new thing – Slumlord Peg, the affordable housing savior.
The Prince of Wales is to build and fund a £3 million social housing development on his land to tackle homelessness. William has overseen plans to construct the 24 homes in Cornwall to be ready next year. They will provide high-quality accommodation in an area with one of the most acute homelessness problems in the UK. The development in Nansledan, a suburb of Newquay, the Cornish seaside town famous for its surfing, will include a mix of four-bedroom houses and one-bedroom flats.
It will deliver on William’s pledge in an interview with The Sunday Times last year that he would put social housing on his Duchy of Cornwall land, the 130,000-acre property portfolio valued at £1 billion stretching from Cornwall to Kent, which he controls as the Duke of Cornwall.
The duchy, which provides the heir to the throne with an income, recorded profits of £24 million in 2022-23. It will supply the land for the project free of charge and cover all construction costs. It will also invest in local infrastructure, including a bus link and connections to electricity, water and superfast broadband.
The new low-carbon homes will feature slate roofs, granite lintels, solar panels, heat pumps and colourful timber windows. It will be built in a “traditional Cornish seaside” style, designed by Adam Architecture and local firm ALA Architects.
It is understood William wants the development to “look and feel as homely as possible” to combat the stigma of social housing. The site will also be re-landscaped and shrubs and wildflowers planted to encourage biodiversity.
Sources close to William, 41, said he wanted to “lead from the front” and encourage other landowners to build more social housing. He is said to be considering further projects on his land. The duchy is working on the project with the Cornish homelessness charity St Petrocs with the long-term aim of helping people move from temporary accommodation at Nansledan into permanent homes.
The basic idea of this reminds me so much of Brad Pitt’s Make It Right NOLA, which ended in utter catastrophe because of shoddy materials, shoddy construction and a poorly-operated organization which left homeowners twisting in the wind. It took MIR NOLA’s victims 15-17 years to get justice and any kind of compensation for how badly they were screwed over. In this case, it sounds like the Duchy of Cornwall is making rental units, correct? So at least no one will take out a mortgage. Anyway… communities always need affordable rental housing, especially in urban areas and especially in the most high-traffic tourist areas (like Cornwall). I hope this goes well and I hope William has learned his lesson about proclaiming himself to be the homelessness savior. Funny that Roya Nikkhah got this briefing straight from William and Kensington Palace but no one will talk about Kate whatsoever.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
- The Prince of Wales meeting refugee Mehrshad Esfandiari from Iran and Aiden Bryne manager of Hosford services (left) during a visit to the East Belfast Mission at the Skainos Centre, Belfast, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Picture date: Tuesday June 27, 2023. . William has set his sights on making rough sleeping, sofa surfing and other forms of temporary accommodation a thing of the past with his initiative called Homewards. The five-year project will initially focus on six locations, to be announced during Monday and Tuesday, where local businesses, organisations and individuals will be encouraged to join forces and develop “bespoke” action plans to tackle homelessness with up to Ł500,000 in funding. Homeless. NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS,Image: 785623491, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
- Aberdeen, UK, 27 June 2023: The Prince of Wales during a visit to Tillydrone Community Campus, Aberdeen, to spotlight how co-located and joined up community support services can improve early intervention and prevent homelessness, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Prince of Wales has set his sights on making rough sleeping, sofa surfing and other forms of temporary accommodation a thing of the past with his initiative called Homewards. The five-year project will initially focus on six locations, to be announced during Monday and Tuesday, where local businesses, organisations and individuals will be encouraged to join forces and develop “bespoke” action plans to tackle homelessness with up to Ł500,000 in funding. *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS ***,Image: 785635040, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Euan Duff / Avalon
- The Prince of Wales during a visit to Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, London, which supports people living with mental health conditions across Lambeth, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 26 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
- The Prince of Wales speaks with members during a visit to Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, London, which supports people living with mental health conditions across Lambeth, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 26 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
- The Prince of Wales speaks during a visit to Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, London, which supports people living with mental health conditions across Lambeth, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 26 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
- The Prince of Wales during a visit to the East Belfast Mission at the Skainos Centre, Belfast, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Belfast, United Kingdom When: 27 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
- The Prince of Wales with Grainia Long, Chief Executive at Northern Ireland Housing Executive, during a visit to the East Belfast Mission at the Skainos Centre, Belfast, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Belfast, United Kingdom When: 27 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
- The Prince of Wales during a visit to Tillydrone Community Campus, Aberdeen, to spotlight how co-located and joined up community support services can improve early intervention and prevent homelessness, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Picture date: Tuesday June 27, 2023. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Aberdeen, United Kingdom When: 27 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
