Cornwall Council splashed the cash in an attempt to tackle the problem of homelessness, which it says costs the authority £6 million a year. The council, which is controlled by the Tories, has installed 18 temporary homes in portable cabin units in a car park.
Dubbed “Bunkabins”, the units are kitted out with basic cooking and shower facilities.
Photos taken by Cornwall Live show a bed, desk, electrical sockets, storage units and a microwave in one of the units in the centre of Truro. Each unit has a small bathroom.
The council had previously used hotels as short-term solutions to house people looking for accommodation.
But residents took to Facebook to voice their concerns with the latest scheme.
One wrote: “This isn’t a ‘solution’ – it’s an insulting Elastoplast.”
Another shared: “What a disgrace living like this in these days… Red Nose Day and Children In Need are for other countries but sorry, charity starts at home, we need donations on these shows for our poor people in this country.”
A third posted: “This isn’t even a plaster over the current problem. Cornwall Council needs to do far more than this to ease the current housing crisis in the county.”
Others blamed second-home ownership for the rise in homelessness in the county, which is popular with wealthy families looking to purchase luxury seaside pads for holidays.
One woman posted: “Stop the sale of houses as ‘investment properties’ and ‘second homes’. It’s pushing the prices beyond what locals can afford.”
Another resident shared: “The council needs to start taxing the second home owners properly to help pay for the part they have played in producing the homelessness problem.”
But the council says it is also in the process of buying and refurbishing more than 100 homes for families to use as medium-term temporary accommodation.
Olly Monk, the council’s portfolio holder for planning and housing, said: “It is great to see the start of our plans to address this issue.
“Our temporary Bunkabin schemes have been a huge success during the pandemic at Truro and Penzance. They ensure that we have direct access to safe, reliable accommodation for vulnerable people, rather than having to use hotels and B&Bs, where people can be asked to leave at short notice.
“Although only temporary, the work that goes into delivering these sites is extraordinary – they require huge amounts of coordinated work between our in-house delivery team, our construction partners, Cormac, and Cornwall Housing, which will manage the sites once built.
“We have made a commitment to doing all we can to solve this current housing problem. Temporary sites like this are really important as they give us space to implement more long-term solutions such as our landmark new Somewhere Safe to Stay hub that we’re currently building at Chough House in Truro.
“We are going to provide as many affordable homes to rent and buy, and homes for social rent – Council houses – as possible, as well as working with our existing housing partners to accelerate this.”
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