THERE’S dismay in a Cornish village – where local families are desperate for a home – that despite complaints exactly a year ago that a housing association home had been empty for eight years, there is still no one living in it.

The house on the Park an Dreas estate in Veryan, on the Roseland peninsula, is a shared ownership property overseen by LiveWest, which has homes across the South West. Both the local parish council and the area’s Cornwall councillor expressed anger last October that the property has been left empty for so long at a time when Cornwall is suffering from a housing crisis.

A parish councillor has now said it’s “beyond belief at a time of great housing crisis” that it and another housing association home on the estate, which has now been empty for three years, are still not occupied.

Julian German, the Independent councillor for St Goran, Tregony and the Roseland – which includes Veryan – said last year: “It is quite outrageous that a property can be empty for this length of time. Eight months is far too long, eight years must seem unbelievable. There have been various commitments over the years that the property will be done up and occupied but these have been meaningless.

“A family should be living here, children in the school and contributing to the vitality of the community. We have plenty of underutilised properties in the parish already, having social housing lay empty is exacerbating the problems rather than relieving them.”

There are believed to be over 30 families on the waiting list for a house in Veryan. Luke Dunstone, who sits on Veryan Parish Council, was also annoyed.

The Park an Dreas estate, which was built in the early 1990s on land owned by the now defunct Carrick District Council, is a mix of 17 shared ownership properties and 16 rental. Cllr Dunstone said: “The estate proved a real lifeline by providing homes for a lot of local young families. House prices in St Mawes and Gerrans have always been really tricky for local people. It’s not quite as exorbitant in Veryan and Gerrans, but it’s always been a struggle for people who have grown up in this area to find an affordable property.

“That’s why it’s so frustrating that this house has been empty so long. The housing association seems very good at enabling housing stock to get built, but not so good when it comes to managing it.”

He told us this week that the house, as well as the nearby property, are still empty. “I’ve written to our MP (Jayne Kirkham) to find out what she can do. It is beyond belief at a time of great housing crisis that these properties have remained empty for so long.”

We contacted Live West, whose director of sales and marketing Debra Saunders said: “We appreciate the frustration about the time it has taken to occupy this home. Following an unauthorised loft conversion by the previous resident, we identified complex issues with the home that required extensive remedial work.

“We completed the necessary work on the home last year to ensure it was safe and ready for the next resident to live in. The home was listed for sale as a shared ownership property in line with the council’s local connection criteria.

“Despite initial interest, several buyers were unable to proceed due to personal circumstances at different stages. We’re delighted to confirm that the home has a buyer in place, and we hope they will be settled into their new home as soon as possible.”