Penryn Halo Village accommodation and amenities for students

Sustainable property developer Verto has been granted planning permission for Halo Village to provide purpose-built accommodation and amenities for over 1,800 students.

The village, previously known as Penvose, across the road from the Tremough Campus on the outskirts of Penryn was given outline planning permission in 2018.

However last year Cornwall Council's Strategic Planning Committee refused further permission on matters relating to landscaping, ecology and scale.

Halo Village will be built near the Tremough Campus, Penryn (Image: File)

An appeal was lodged with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government by applicant Andy West which has now been won.

This development will service the growing student population at the Tremough Campus in Penryn and will house students from both Exeter and Falmouth universities.

The company says this will free up desperately needed housing for working people and families by releasing hundreds of private houses that are currently being occupied by students.

It says due to its high number of students, Falmouth has over five times more Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) than any other town in Cornwall – and student numbers are set to climb as the university targets ambitious growth for 2030.

The development at Halo Village will comprise 1,858 beds for students, including 97 wheelchair, accessible units, amenities for students and the local community alike, including a new doctor’s surgery, leisure facilities, business units and sustainable transport infrastructure.

The company says everything will be constructed to the very highest environmental standards, while embodied and operational carbon will be net zero – or even beyond zero.

The developer says this means Halo Village will be the first student accommodation of its kind to meet such a sustainable benchmark, anywhere in the world.

Where the new village will be built (Image: Google Maps)

Verto says it has also worked with Cornwall Council and consultant ecologists to ensure the conservation and enhancement of local biodiversity, creating a net gain in habitats of over 35 per cent.

Since acquiring the site in 2019, Verto have worked with the local community, Cornwall’s Design Review Panel and Planning Officers, local and county councillors to improve upon the outline consent granted for the land.

While local councillors initially had reservations which resulted in a refusal of planning permission last year, Verto says it and Cornwall Council have worked to bring the project to fruition and will initiate works on site in October 2024.

It says the development of this project will also boost the economic activity of Falmouth.

It says more than £100 million gross value added will benefit the local community through the build and operation of the site.

It says there will be an additional 1,550 construction jobs created over the build period, along with a further 350 permanent jobs created once the development is operational.

Andy West, Head of Land and Planning at Verto: “I am hugely proud that we have achieved consent for such a groundbreaking and revolutionary development. I hope that the Halo Village scheme acts as a catalyst to change the way major development projects are delivered in the UK, and proves that zero carbon development is not only achievable but necessary to address the climate crisis.”

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Richard Pearce, Co-Founder of Verto: “We are proud to be delivering the world’s first zero-carbon student community to service both Exeter and Falmouth universities. Our team has the experience and expertise to develop Halo Village to be operationally zero carbon, while also tackling the embodied carbon that comes with the construction process, reducing carbon wherever we can and committing to offset anything left over.”

Tom Carr, Co-Founder of Verto: “The approval for this development is a significant step forward as we bring much needed accommodation for students, freeing up local properties and delivering new amenities for use by the whole community.

“The later-than-planned construction start, which has delayed the economic boost of new jobs, businesses and a doctor’s surgery, could have been avoided. We would urge local councillors to consider the needs of communities and the environment before preventing important developments such as Halo Village.”