FED-UP residents of the UK’s second capital say they are being forced to live in caravans and sheds as overpriced homes have been snapped up by wealthy Londoners.
Families in the Cornish village of St Minver – a few miles inland from the Camel Estuary and Polzeath, where celebrities including Gordon Ramsay, Rick Stein and David Cameron own holiday homes – say their community has turned into a ghost town, driven in part by the rise of the wealthy of visitors staying during Covid.
12
St Minvers in Cornwall was taken over by the owners of another house Credit: Wayne Perry
12
Teenager Joe Mercer says his friends bought a station wagon from a Facebook marketplace for a living Credit: Wayne Perry
12
Owner James Mercer runs the village’s only pub and says it has been closed for months due to poor footfall Credit: Wayne Perry
Surveys of the village and surrounding coastal town showed that almost three-quarters of houses were second homes in 2021, but locals believe that rate is far higher now.
A notice board inside the village post office – itself saved by community fundraising after its previous house was sold – tells its own story, with adverts seeking classic car storage, property management companies and move-in day cleaners.
A recent planning application from a developer to turn the village’s only pub – the Fourways Inn – into six holiday flats has sparked a wave of objections from villagers.
But landlord James Mercer, 69, who has run the pub since 1983, says the number of homes sitting empty all winter means it is no longer viable to stay open all year round.
He said: “I’m in favor because if it gets the license then it’s sold and I can retire, if it’s not I can’t.
“Work has been a disaster since Covid. We’ve been closed since September because it’s simply not worth being open in the winter, nobody lives here anymore.
“In the middle of winter, if you walk around at night, you’ll see maybe three houses with lights on.
“What used to be a healthy local shop has just disappeared because of the cottages.
“Second homes are part of everyday life, but there comes a point where it becomes too much and that’s what we have now.”
Asked how he assessed the chances of young people buying a home near where they grew up, Mr Mercer said: “Good if they have a few million in their pocket, if not forget it.”
Too poor to ride the bus and chased by homeless people who attack homeless people… life in a crumbling British city that the world has ‘forgotten’
Further along the main road through the village, luxury cars laden with luggage rush to the nearby millionaire’s Rock playground.
Janet Tatlock, who has lived in St Minver since 1999, said she felt humiliated by some ‘rude’ homeowners who find themselves on narrow country lanes unable to reverse.
She said: “I’ve seen a lot of changes with holiday homes. It’s not easy for locals anymore, and the traffic is 20 times worse than when I moved here.
“I have no ax to grind with them, they are mostly fine as long as they are polite, but some look down on you, in many cases they are rude and don’t know how to drive.
“They don’t come to the pub, I think people are drawn to Rick Stein and Gordon Ramsay, but it’s always been a popular area.”
12
The village is close to Cornwall hotspots popular with celebrities such as the Ramsay family. Pictured by Tilly Ramsay in RockCredit: Instagram
12
Rick Stein helped turn Cornwall into a growing tourist destinationCredit: BBC/Shine TV
12
David Cameron owns a holiday home in the areaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Pointing towards the narrow street of pretty stone houses leading to the village church, Janet discovered that there was no permanent resident.
She said: “In the winter it’s very dark, quiet, and going down the road there are no lights because no one lives there. Some people only come two or three times a year. It’s creepy, really.
“When houses come on the market, they are so expensive that local people can’t even dream of buying. Then they are raked up, knocked down and replaced with something modern.
“The people of Cornwall hate it, but it will never change. I like it here, but I don’t go to the Rock in the summer because it takes forever to get down there, but you learn to live with it.”
Young trouble
Cornwall has the highest proportion of holiday homes in the country and the council’s own figures estimate that St Minver parishes have the highest number of holiday homes, although they estimate a far lower 42 per cent.
The borough council has announced a policy to double council tax on cottages from next April, but there is little local optimism that this will bring positive change.
Young adults are the most affected group, with some buying used RVs on Facebook Marketplace to park in their parents’ driveways or in fields.
Joe Mercer, 19, who grew up in St Minver and works as a caterer in nearby Polzeath, said: “I don’t know anyone my age who has managed to buy a house, most of them still live at home.
“Life in a caravan would be much more affordable, that’s what my friends do. They bought a trailer on the Facebook market and are currently living there, but it’s not very comfortable.
I know a lot of people who bought a caravan and put it in their parents’ garden or somewhere in a field and live there
Joe Mercer, 19
“I know a lot of people who bought a caravan and set it up in their parents’ garden or somewhere in a field and live there.
“It’s a lot more affordable than even a holiday park which would be £400 a month or a flat which would be £800. That’s funny.
“I wouldn’t be able to afford any house in the village – I remember when I was much younger, there were a lot of people in the village and my friends were here too. There’s not much left.
“In the summer, you can’t drive anywhere because the roads are full.
“If you look on Facebook, there are some people who are not very nice to the cottage owners. I don’t have a problem with them, but it’s getting out of hand.
“Nice place, who wouldn’t want to come here?”
12
Locals turn to caravan parks to find affordable accommodationCredit: Wayne Perry
12
John Smith says the youngsters are struggling, living in caravans and sheds at the bottom of the garden Credit: Wayne Perry
12
One mum says she lives in a static caravan as a last resort Credit: Wayne Perry
John Smith (78), who has been running a car garage in the village for 50 years, says that life has changed beyond recognition in that time.
He said: “All the houses that are being sold are being bought by people from outside the area, which means people can’t afford to buy. All council houses are sold out, so there is no stock for young people to have houses.
“All young people are struggling, living in caravans and sheds at the bottom of the garden.
“Obviously people are angry about it, young people have to move away and if they do well, you’ll see them come back, if not, you’ll never see them again
“It has changed the community, we are getting busier because in the last 50 years 50 garages have been closed and turned into holiday homes.”
12
Cornwall’s stunning coastline is always packed in summerCredit: Getty
12
St Minver is like a ghost town in winter, say residents Credit: Wayne Perry
12
Even the local pub could be turned into a festive venue Credit: Wayne Perry
On the south shore near Lizard Point, others face a dreary life.
A mother-of-two forced to move her family into a static caravan due to a second home crisis in Cornwall reveals the move left her ’embarrassed’ and ‘failing her children’.
Sarah Brim, 31, her partner James, 31, and their two young children lived with their family in a home provided by their employer, but when a relative left for another job, the couple had to move out.
After four months of searching, the couple – who both work and have a combined income of £43,000 – were unable to find any property they could afford.
Last week they moved into a cramped static caravan in a tourist park which, ironically, is full of Cornish people who have been forced out of the property market by tourists.
Sarah said: “It put a lot of stress on us. My mental health is seriously damaged, we are both stressed, we are losing sleep because of it all. It’s really hard.
“The search for houses at the moment is terrible. We were told that we needed to earn 36 times the monthly rent to even look at a property, regardless of the amount of properties that listed either no children or only one child.
“It’s become easier to find accommodations that allow pets than children.”
The last refuge
Even a modest static caravan on Cornwall’s Lizard Peninsula costs Sarah and her family nearly £1,200 – £800 a month in rent and £360 to store clothes and furniture that won’t fit in the caravan.
Despite it being temporary accommodation, Sarah was told she would be there indefinitely until she could find a private rented property or a council house became available.
Around 27,000 families in Cornwall are on a housing waiting list.
She said: “It’s very cramped, we haven’t taken half of our clothes and there’s not enough storage space at all.
“It’s simple, but it has beds for all of us and a roof over our heads, so that’s the most important thing, but it’s half an hour away from my children’s school, which means two hours of my day are now spent going to and from school. .”
A spokesman for Cornwall Council said: “Cornwall continues to face extreme and unprecedented pressures on housing and we have our deepest sympathies for our residents who are unable to find a home.
“There are many reasons for the current pressures that have reached a peak after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Boosting house prices and demand for holiday accommodation have caused a significant and sharp reduction in the availability of rental homes.
“Private landlords have moved away from long-term lettings and turned to the short-term holiday market, as travel restrictions due to Covid-19 have increased demand from people wanting to holiday in the UK.
“Others have sold their properties due to high market sale prices, partly driven by the shift to working from home which has seen more people wanting to move to Cornwall.
“This is accompanied by an escalation in private rental costs.
“As a Council we want a Cornwall where our residents can ‘start well, live well and age well’ and home ownership is an essential aspect. While there is no quick fix to the current housing crisis, we are committed to providing suitable homes for our residents in communities where they are needed .”
The council said it was working to build more council homes for local residents, buy properties on the open market to convert into affordable housing and has a new strategy to increase specialist and affordable housing in the district.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education