Affordable homes for 'housing crisis-hit town'

Sixteen affordable homes for local people are being built on the site of a derelict nursery, a housing association has said.

The homes will be built on the old Bicclescombe Nursery site, in Ilfracombe, Devon, and will all be available for social rent, which will offer affordable housing at "significantly lower" prices than private rentals, association Aster Group said.

It has partnered with Ilfracombe Community Land Trust (ICLT), a group formed by residents, to create affordable local homes.

Mark Read, from the trust, said "the housing crisis hit Ilfracombe hard" and hoped the project would "just be the start of a larger response to the desperate need" for affordable properties.

The Aster Group said the partnership which also worked with North Devon Council aimed to provide "genuinely affordable housing" and "help address the town's critical housing need".

It said the 16 homes would be made up of eight two‑bed houses, two three‑bed houses, and six one‑bed maisonette‑style flats.

In addition to funding from Homes England, the government's housing agency, through its Affordable Homes Programme, the project also received £500,000 from the UK government, through the One Public Estate programme.

Work started in March and is expected to be completed by the end of spring 2027.

Public Health Devon reported in 2024 that 30% of people in Ilfracombe town centre faced income hardship, with almost four in 10 children living in poverty which encouraged residents to push for change.

Amanda Williams, from the housing association, said the new buildings would "offer local people the security, stability and genuinely affordable housing they deserve".

The Aster Group said North Devon Council provided the funding to enable the formation of the community trust, secured further funding and worked through the feasibility of the scheme through the Community Housing Fund.

North Devon Council's lead councillor for housing and homelessness, Graham Bell, said the derelict site was a "blot" on the landscape but the new homes would be "wonderful" for Ilfracombe.

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