Prince William has travelled to Cornwall to oversee an ambitious new homelessness project, just hours after he was in Istanbul celebrating Aston Villa's Europa League final victory. The Prince of Wales visited Nansledan, an ambitious and sustainable urban extension to Newquay, being developed by the Duchy of Cornwall.
William, who is known as the Duke of Cornwall when in the area, highlighted efforts to tackle homelessness, support local communities and deliver affordable, sustainable homes during his visit. Honouring last night's Aston Villa victory, William arrived in Cornwall wearing his team's colours, as he donned a blue shirt and claret tie.
Warm Welcome in Cornwall
William was welcomed by a group of locals, with one child handing the prince a chocolate bar. While the prince was still on a high from Aston Villa's victory, he revealed that his daughter Princess Charlotte is a Chelsea FC fan.
As he entered the grounds to see the plans for the Market Street development in Nansledan, the future king made a cast of his hands alongside two locals, which will be put on display when Market Street is completed.
During the visit, William spoke to Cornish couple Jess and Nick Dunstan, who are the first people to move into the Build To Rent houses at Nansledan. They told him with the competitive rental market, they were delighted to find something affordable in such a lovely area, close to their six-year-old daughter Rosie's school.
Market Street Development
Market Street marks a significant milestone in the continued expansion of Nansledan, which has already grown into a thriving mixed-use community. The development currently includes around 900 homes, a primary school, office space, a community centre and more than 40 local businesses.
The project also places a strong emphasis on green space and environmental sustainability. Residents have access to a range of outdoor amenities including wildflower meadows, parkland, orchards, wetlands, ponds, community allotments, play areas and a skatepark.
Henry Meacock, CEO of homeless charity St Petrocs, said William has been involved in the housing scheme since day one. Standing by the gate to the construction site which borders Newquay Orchard where the homes in the style and look of Nansledan are being built, he said: “It was two years ago when we welcomed The Duke to this site and showed him the final designs. To have him see the finished product is just brilliant. As well as brick and mortar it's about raising awareness of the issues of homelessness and the solutions to it.”
Henry added: “It's about showing how we can end homelessness person by person, place by place and policy by policy.” He said the scheme on the edge of Nansledan has been designed to help people out of homelessness and Prince William’s involvement had made it all happen.
Europa League Celebrations
William was in Istanbul on Wednesday night to cheer on his beloved Aston Villa as they secured Europa League glory against Freiburg, marking their first major trophy since 1996.
The prince was invited to be part of the post-game celebrations, with Matty Cash admitting that he was enjoying beers with the players in the dressing room. "He deserves moments like these and hopefully he can let his hair down," said the right back.
John McGinn revealed that William had quickly engaged with the players before kick-off. The Scot hailed his character and joked that he was welcome to join them for celebratory drinks as long as he picked up the bill.
McGinn said on TNT Sports: "He's a classy guy, he was in the dressing room before the game. He's a massive Villa fan so was never going to miss it, it's great to have his support, he's just a normal guy."
