The first social housing development on the Scilly island of Bryher has been officially opened.

The two houses are among a total of seven homes, let at affordable rents, which have been built on the off-islands where there is a huge gap between average wages and house prices.

The two three-bedroom homes built at Church Quay, Bryher, were developed by Cornwall Rural Housing Association (CRHA) for rent to qualifying local people.

The development of social housing on the off-islands also involved the building of three homes on St Agnes and two homes on St Martin's.

All of the homes were developed at a cost of £1.9 million with the help of £1.4 million of grant funding from the Homes & Communities Agency on land bought on a 125-year lease from the Duchy of Cornwall.

The tape to mark the opening of the Bryher homes was cut by the former Land Steward of the Duchy of Cornwall, Colin Sturmer, who retired on May 29, 2009, the day that it was announced that the application for funding for the development was successful.

"These developments are very important for the islands, because it is very difficult to get new houses here. It needed a partnership to achieve this," said Mr Sturmer.

"This has been a true partnership between the Cornwall Rural Housing Association, the council, the Duchy and, most of all, the islanders themselves."

The tenants of the new homes, named Quayside and Samphire at their suggestion, are delighted with the properties, which have an amazing view from the front looking down on the harbour at Bryher and across the water to New Grimsby on Tresco, where some holidaymakers pay £2,000 a week for their accommodation.

Dave Hooper, a skipper with Bryher Boat Services, moved in a year ago with his wife Sophie and their two children Sampson, five, and Charlotte, two.

"It was a fight to get a home here. We were living in a Duchy property but the rent was more than double what we are paying here. It was crippling, not manageable on one income," he said.

"The views are great and the moorings are near. In the morning it's straight out of bed and straight on to the boat."

Next door are Neil and Gemma Hansen and their 10-month old son Joseph. Neil is also a boat skipper on Bryher but they had to leave their previous home when the owner wanted to convert it.

The sustainable homes, let at a below market rent of £109.65 a week, feature high levels of insulation, hot water provided by a solar thermal system and wood-burning stoves which also provide heating via radiators.

The planning restrictions which were placed on these properties stated that they had to be used to house people with a strong local connection to Bryher.