'Cornwall needs housing' say locals as they issue plea for new properties
Cornwall Live readers have been reacting to the recent article exploring the urgent need for new housing in Cornwall. The head of housing in Cornwall has cautiously praised the Government's new house-building target but emphasised that if around 4,500 new homes are to be built each year in the Duchy, they must include a mix of affordable and social housing to help young people onto the property ladder.
The Labour Government is targeting the construction of an additional 1.5 million homes over the next five years, with planning reforms, the release of green belt land and the reintroduction of compulsory housing targets for local authorities playing key roles in this initiative.
One of our readers. Tamarsaint says: "No no no. Enough is enough. Absolutely no more building on precious land. This county is being completely swamped and ruined by more housing. Firstly - control the incessant plague of second homes and Airbnb's to bring them back into the housing stock as primary residences. Start by raising council tax to 5x the standard rate and logically the NPPF should require planning consent too. Secondly - Repurpose disused buildings of which there are 1000's of properties available by reviving empty spaces above shops and Thirdly - many empty shops which are now redundant could and should be brought back into use as housing."
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AJSON adds: "What Cornwall needs is housing for locals. These new builds are not for locals as many are unable to afford them. Use empty buildings and stop building on green land. Concrete estates are everywhere!"
Breakw writes: "If there’s one thing you can guarantee its getting another excuse about why Cornwall needs more housing and another reason about why Cornish people can't buy one. Scapegoats explaining why a decision has been made seeming more important than finding a genuine solution. How many reasons have we been given over years explaining why so much housing has been built, why so few locals have been buying them and why Cornish residents are getting poorer and poorer? All that changes is the divides get bigger and the excuses change. Nothing happens where Cornish people are better off, it'll be another excuse next year about why Cornwall needs more housing and why we're all going to suffer more because that's all that happens in Cornwall."
Kernowmaid believes: "Deluded! £250,000 and £350,000 properties are selling very well in that price point within the means of local people. The average wage down here does not come anywhere close to making these 'affordable'. What about social rented for those that don't stand a chance of getting a mortgage!!!???"
Don O’Treply adds: "What Cornwall needs is for holiday letting properties to have a licence, for which a charge of 10 per cent of the property’s value should go to the Council. Without this the property should be unavailable to let as a holiday let. This is what they do in Spain and it works well."
0611 asks: "Can't we keep Cornish houses for the Cornish, we wouldn't have a problem then, instead of our Cornish youngsters having to move away to find work and affordable housing."
Woody-1961 replies: "Surely you mean English? What has buying a house got to do with moving away? You need a job to buy a house! If there are no jobs in Cornwall then young people have to move away."
Evilfirst11edna asks: "Why don’t they finish building the half-built ‘builders gone bankrupt’ stuff first? Plenty of that about. Threemilestone, Falmouth, Hayle etc."
While over on the Cornwall Live Facebook page we have Trevor Bilkey who says: "We need homes for Cornish people, not second homeowners or people that just want to move to Cornwall.
Keith Harris writes: "Social housing for local families that’s all we need and smaller properties for the older population who have bigger homes at affordable rents - not rocket science."
Geoffrey Waller says: "Needs to consider the hospital needs for all these extra people. But I doubt they will."
So do you agree that Cornwall needs more housing? Let us know in the comments below or HERE.