Wadebridge - an urgent need for new housing?

According to a news report on 2nd September, “One of Cornwall’s leading developers has submitted its plans to deliver hundreds of much-needed homes for the county.” [Cornish Times]. This application is for 550 new dwellings in Wadebridge.

  

So are these ‘much-needed homes' or not?  Lets look at housing development history in and around the town.

 

Context

Between 2011 and 2021 the number of dwellings increased from 3,151 to 3,450. Of these unoccupied numbers rose from 196 to 295, (8.6% of the  2021 total) of which 95 were second homes.

 

	All Household spaces	Occupied	Unoccupied
2011	3151	2955	196
2021	3450	3150	295
Change nos	299	195	99
Change %	9.5	6.6	50.5

[Census, 2011 and Census 2021]. 

 

Between 2012 and 2021, planning permission for 654 dwellings was given of which 457 were for open market dwellings. 

 

Since then applications for another 543 dwellings have been made. 

 

Commentary

Therefore the recent application for 550 dwellings is in addition to the 543 already in the pipeline.  That’s a total of 1,093 new dwellings. An increase of 32%!  Why?

 

Such an increase is not required.  The annual increase in Occupied housing numbers between 2011 and 2021 was 20 a year. Unoccupied dwellings increased by 10 per annum. 

 

The majority of new dwellings are ‘open market’ dwellings, which are unlikely to be affordable and therefore available to local residents.

 

The Home Choice Register* gives a total of 270 households with a local connection for Wadebridge, lower than the number of unoccupied dwellings in the town.

 

[* The number on the register does not equate to the number of new dwellings required to be built].

 

Sources

Cornwall Council, (2025), Planning applications, Online Planning Register.

Cornwall Council, (2025),  Housing permissions annual snapshot and Housing completions 2015 to 2023, Interactive Map.

Cornwall Council, (2025), Home Choice Register, April 2025.

Office for National Statistics, Census 2011.

Office for National Statistics, Census 2011.

Cornish Times, (Sept 2025),https://www.cornish-times.co.uk/property/wadebridge-set-for-550-new-homes-following-developer-application-827149