anger at lack of affordable housing in the region, as a result of the increasing demand from investors, as residents describe themselves as an “endangered species”. According to First Not Second Homes, raising awareness of the hidden housing issue in the UK, there were 21,817 people were on its housing register this week. Meanwhile, Cornwall has over 12,770 second homes and more than 11,000 holiday lets, which is why the group is currently campaigning in the region, calling for the introduction of licences for second homes, along with new planning laws and an end to what is known as “no-fault evictions”, which allow tenants to be rapidly expelled without good reason.
“Last month, there were 111 Airbnbs in and around St Agnes, 96 of which were whole houses. If you looked for long-term rentals, the closest place was Portreath (seven miles away). There’s nothing locally for people to live in,” Cath Navin, co-founder of protest group, said. “Ideally, I’d also like to see some retrospective action with compulsory purchases in places where communities are being eroded,” commenting on the proposed legislation, she said. “That’s quite radical, but those things have been introduced internationally so why not here?”
Samantha Quinn, a resident of Truro, a cathedral city in Cornwall, has been forced out of several rental homes, along with her teenage daughter, since the properties have been sold. They waited on the housing register for some time, before living in temporary holiday accommodation and then moving into a friend’s house since there was no alternative. “To say to your child, ‘I actually don’t have a home for you’, felt really rubbish – I felt like I had failed at life,” she said. “As a professional who works full-time in the charity sector and doesn’t have any credit history issues, it’s really weird to think that I was in that position.”
They are not the only residents in the region facing the deepening crisis in affordable housing. The dream of owning a house is becoming more and more distant for them since “everyone wants a piece of Cornwall”, according to one resident. First Not Second Homes is calling on the government to tackle the situation by implementing the legislation proposed. “Ultimately I want to see no second homes until everybody has a decent first home,” the group’s Co-founder Camilla Dixon said.
