North Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson calls for action over the number of second homes
NORTH Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson has renewed his calls for local people to be given more powers over the number of second homes in their area after it was revealed that some communities in the constituency have the highest rate of second home ownership in the county.
Figures from Cornwall Council Community Intelligence show that of the ten parishes with the highest percentage of second homes, six are in North Cornwall.
-
ROOM WITH A VIEW: Views such as this have made Boscastle popular with those seeking a second home in Cornwall.
St Minver Lowlands topped the league with 42.9 per cent of residential properties being second homes. St Minver Highlands parish had slightly fewer, at 37.9 per cent.
Padstow has a second home rate of 29.3 per cent while neighbouring St Merryn had 38.4 per cent and St Endellion (34.9 per cent) also came in the top ten.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
Twenty per cent of dwellings in Boscastle and Poundstock are second homes.
Mr Rogerson, a Liberal Democrat, said: "Whilst it's important that we continue to promote our tourist industry, it cannot be right that areas such as Padstow, Port Isaac and St Minver have such a high concentration of second homes.
"Such a high rate stops local people being able to afford to live in their own community, and has a massive impact on local services such as schools, shops and bus routes."
Cornwall councillors are to discuss the situation, with some suggesting people should be required to obtain planning permission if they want to turn a property into a second home.
Regarding that proposal, Mr Rogerson said: "I would welcome the support of councillors for giving local people powers through the planning system to say no to more second homes if they feel that their area has reached saturation point.
"In March 2010 I tried to introduce a new law to give local councils the power to control the number of second homes in their area. I also tried to amend the Planning Act in 2008 to make sure that if somebody wanted to turn a permanent home into a second home they would have to get planning permission first.
"I will continue to stand up for the communities I represent and will be taking these new figures to the Government to argue for greater powers to be given to local people to control the number of second homes in their area," he said.
Comments
by shagrats
Friday, January 25 2013, 8:27AM
“We all know that there should be action as this amount of second home ownership strangles coastal communities, yet the democratic process we have will never be able to deliver any change unless there is a party that is prepared to actually make a stand on this.
My family live in Port Loe, this really is the best example of just how destcructive this proliferation of second homes is to a community. All the buisness have shut, No cafe, no post office, No shop, The small pub has changed hands about 5 times in the past 10 years as the trade in the winter drags down the yearly profit. Its completely dead from september to april.
This was a village with a real community, not any more.
Thats the reality of second home ownership.
Personaly I think they should limit the % of homes say to 10% and then only let those be used as timeshare. This share the resource, fill the cottages more of the time and will minimise the "empty house" that really is the problem with 2nd home ownership.”