Prince vows to construct houses throughout Duchy of Cornwall to assist homeless

Prince William has vowed to do, not just preach, by building dozens more homes for the homeless on his own Duchy of Cornwall estate.

The heir to the throne is currently marking a year since he launched his Homewards project to end the scourge of rough sleeping, sofa surfing and families living in often sub-standard temporary accommodation in six key areas across the UK.

He is already working with the charity St Petrocs in Cornwall to provide 24 homes with wrap-around support for local people experiencing homelessness at Nansledan.

And now sources have told the Mail that William is taking an ‘active role’ in developing additional housing projects across his estate, which accounts for 52,449 hectares across 20 counties in the UK.

It is understood that he strongly believes he must lead from the front given his position of immense privilege as Prince of Wales.

Prince William (pictured on Thursday) has vowed to build dozens more homes for the homeless on his own Duchy of Cornwall estate 

The heir to the throne is currently marking a year since he launched his Homewards project to end the scourge of rough sleeping in six key areas across the UK

He is already working with the charity St Petrocs in Cornwall to provide 24 homes with wrap-around support for local people experiencing homelessness at Nansledan

While his decision to build more affordable homes is not a political one, it does chime with the new Labour government’s mission on house building.

In a speech during a visit to Brixton, south London, William argued that for too long homelessness had been seen as ‘inevitable’.

‘Homelessness is a complex societal issue and one that touches the lives of far too many people in our society. However, I truly believe that it can be ended,’ he said.

Local experts – ranging from house builders and local authorities to private rental firms and charities – are being helped to work together to find solutions to ultimately eradicate homelessness in all its forms.

The Prince told guests at the event, who were drawn from the charity sector, local authorities, as well as those who have experienced homelessness, that their success so far was a ‘powerful reminder to everyone of what can be achieved when we work together towards a shared goal’.

Prince William told guests that their success so far is a ‘powerful reminder to everyone of what can be achieved when we work together towards a shared goal’

In a speech during a visit to Brixton, south London, William argued that for too long homelessness had been seen as ‘inevitable’

The Prince said of people who apparently slip through the system: ‘We’ve got to make sure we don’t overlook them’

‘So many people are doing brilliant work and have been doing it for years and years. We want you to feel that this [Homewards] is a resource and support for you,’ he said.

The Prince also spoke of his concerns about people slipping through the cracks in society, saying: ‘We’ve got to make sure we don’t overlook them. Find families early enough and work with them. 

‘If you’re parenting on our own without a village, you’re set up to fail.’

The event included a ‘fireside chat’ with Homewards advocate Sabrina Hatton Cohen, and Chris Lynam from the Sheffield coalition who shared his story of childhood abuse, followed by PTSD from his time in the Navy and his journey from being a ‘homeless heroin addict eating from bins’ to one of Homewards’ ‘lived experience advocates’.

William added: ‘I created Homewards because I wanted us to look at the issue of homelessness through a different lens: to inspire a movement to prevent people from ever experiencing homelessness in the first place.

‘I know this will take a huge effort. And I know that demonstrating that homelessness is not an inevitable part of our society will take time.

‘I have, though, been struck by the scale of the work that has been carried out since the launch of Homewards and I hope it is a powerful reminder to everyone of what can be achieved when we work together.

‘The energy and enthusiasm that each individual and organisation is bringing to the programme, and to showing that it is possible to end homelessness in their local area, is inspiring and I know, together, we can do this.’