TWO NEW homes with amazing views, which were officially opened on Bryher last week, are part of the historic development of the first social housing on Scilly's off-islands.

A total of seven homes, let at affordable rents, are on islands where there is a huge gap between average wages and house prices.

The two three-bedroom homes on Bryher – Quayside and Samphire – built at Church Quay, were developed by Cornwall Rural Housing Association 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 on St Martin's.

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

The opening tape was cut by the former Land Steward of the Duchy of Cornwall, Colin Sturmer, who retired two years ago on the day that it was announced that the funding application was successful.

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

He said it was the culmination of many years of hard work.

Initial options foundered for legal and financial reasons, he said. "Fortunately the knowledge and expertise of Peter Moore, the director of the Cornwall RHA was able to guide the project through the bureaucratic maze."

Mr Sturmer thanked Geoff and Kris Taylor, John and Dee Bird and Rock and Alison Legg who willingly gave up their land.

The tenants of the new homes 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 accommodation.

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

"It was a fight to get a home here," he said. "We were living in a Duchy property but the rent was more than double what we are paying here. It was crippling."

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.

Restrictions on the properties state that they have to be used to house people with a strong connection to Bryher.

"They are very much needed," said Bryher councillor Marian Bennett. "One young family from the island has already emigrated to Australia because they failed to get a house.

"New affordable houses are vital to keep the islands going."

Richard McCarthy, councillor for St Agnes, said his island had three new affordable homes, including a bungalow for a disabled person which was occupied by an 80-year-old grandmother, freeing up a three-bedroom Duchy property for her grandson and family.

"Five years ago there were only two children left in St Agnes school, now there are eight and the island is becoming more sustainable," he said.

"These new homes are a sign that these small islands at the margin of the British Isles can be sustainable with the right level of investment."