“There are 152 local authorities in England and in terms of arithmetically how many claimants there are for each vacancy Cornwall sits at 32nd (where 1st is best, the fewest claimants for each vacancy). Cornwall is thus at the 80th percentile, that is the ratio for Cornwall is as good as or better than 80 percent of England local authorities.

For Cornwall there are 3.5 claimants per vacancy. The mean average for England is 5.3 and the ratio ranges from 2.0 to 22.8 (disregarding the extremely low figures for the City of London and Isles of Scilly).”

“Slimslad. An excellent and accurate post! For reasons I do not fully understand some people who live in Cornwall always seek to run the county down; when indeed, as you say, it is relatively successful.
Currently, there are the two proposed affordable housing developments in the Truro area, which seem to be unpopular with some. Why is it unpopular? The county still needs further housing developments to accommodate an increasing population, so why not in Truro?
Inward investment for jobs in Cornwall is also relatively successful - even though we are still in recession - one could however believe differently when reading the local press and some of the comments written in the various online forums.
Perhaps, we should talk more often about the positive elements which abound in Cornwall and not constantly harp on about the downside.
Success breeds success. Positive attitudes result in positive outcomes!”

“Thank you, but I can't take the credit.

http://tinyurl.com/87s4kt4”

“I have to agree that there are a small minority here who seek to do Cornwall down, they only concentrate on the negative, and never propose ways of improving the county. Cornwall needs a broadband revolution to draw in people who work from home in IT driven and related industries. By drawing in expertise and entrepreneurship we will build 21 st century industries which will enhance Cornwall and enrich us all.”

“@Big_Ger

Broadband has been up and running in the biggest part of the country now for a good while, by the time it has filtered through to Cornwall and outlying areas, what has been had from broadband has been had, and will have moved on to better things no doubt.

I think Cornwall is best for what it is good at, and comes naturally to the county, that is tourism, something to be proud of, with a little light industry here and there not getting in the way.”

“There are other areas of Britain where broadband hasn't reached.

http://tinyurl.com/7v4szk8”

“YC I am aware of the broadband penetration into Cornwall, I'm a keen user myself. Now what the county council should be doing is offering incentives to small companies, or those offering home based IT work, to relocate or invest in Cornwall. Cornwall's major selling points of the beauty and rural idyll of the county should be a great reason for firms to relocate here, and to bring wealth generating opportunities.”

“For me the real economic problem for Cornwall is the decline in traditional industries and the failure of government to either support them or find alternatives. That said and indeed despite this there is a fair amount of succesful businesses in Cornwall. Our capacity to grow and produce food has grown over recent years. By far our biggest export in monetary terms and by volume is food both fresh and produced. This must be both protected and supported.

I can only agree with other posters about the potential of the internet to expand existing business and attract new ventures. Im my opinion it should be a priority for the Cornwall LEP and the council to encourage internet trading and provide courses and/or workshops to businesses to help them unlock the potential of the internet.

One of the reasons I am a nationalist and want political change is that I believe the Cornish economy is mismanaged. There is a huge potential to increase our economy and raise wage levels high enough to make home ownership affordable again. I think that a direction and drive to better are economy can only come from a government source and that Westminster and Whitehall have thus far failed so a Cornish assembly would provide an opportunity to improve what we already have and come up with new ideas.”

“"Westminster and Whitehall have thus far failed so a Cornish assembly would provide an opportunity to improve what we already have and come up with new ideas."

And I suppose those who keep voting for this "Westminster and Whitehall" failed setup, are going to miraculously "improve" and come up with new "ideas."
Lets put the horse before the cart shall we, and those who want change come up with the new ideas FIRST, and see how many are in agreement beforehand, that would be the best and most sensible thing to do, not keep trying to sell a pig in a pock,"it will be alright on the night",
"my word is my bond" etc ect, just isn't good enough.”

“"There is a huge potential to increase our economy and raise wage levels high enough to make home ownership affordable again".

I disagree.

Cornish house prices are not driven by earnings in Cornwall, in my opinion.
They are driven by those who will pay "top dollar" to move into Cornwall or want a second home in a beautiful county.”

“I agree YC! It's a shame that those who have all these wonderful ways of improving Cornwall's economy are keeping them to themselves, while awaiting being elected into the Cornwall Assembly. Why are they not standing for county council posts, and improving Cornwall that way? Or could it e another myth; "once we have an assembly everyone will vote for a Cornish nationalist party candidate and everything will suddenly be rosy in the garden!"

The funny thing was MK put up 33 candidates for the last county council elections, and I'm sure they would have shouted their amazing "make Cornwall rich again" plans from the rooftops for a vote. But they didn't, and only three got voted in.

The Cornwall assembly idea is just "pie in the sky / jam tomorrow" nonsense.”

“By the way; Mebyon Kernow, the nationalist party which wants to run Cornwall, hasn't even been able to run it's own website for the last three months, and yet they tell us they want to run a glorified "assembly" mega county council! If they demonstrably cannot even keep their own house in order and up and running, who in their right mind would trust them to run a county council?”

“by Big_Ger
"I agree YC! It's a shame that those who have all these wonderful ways of improving Cornwall's economy are keeping them to themselves"

You would think this would be the ideal place and opportunity for them to broadcast what they are about, their "ideas" and the like, by clamming up and saying nothing, just shows how shallow MK's nationalistic approach really is.”

“Havent been back in a few days, been busy blogging if youre interested. Wow lots of heated replies and mixing of metaphors. Just briefly to reply theres a wealth of information online about devolution, both here and elsewhere. Try looking for the Cornish constitutional convention or the government of Cornwall bill. There are clear well researched articles on attractive proposals for a Cornish assembly.

Now what happened to the sensible discussion? I answered the question about our economy by writing that centralisation undermines our economy. If this wrong as you seem to believe what is right? What is the way to more jobs and houses and a better way of life? You may think me idealistic for promising a fresh start with devolution, but I cannot see another option. Who is proposing to fix our problems? An assembly would be a chance for Cornwall to decide what is best for Cornwall. Maybe there's another way to develop Cornwall, but I've yet to hear it.”

“"Who is proposing to fix our problems?"

What problems?

"For me the real economic problem for Cornwall is the decline in traditional industries and the failure of government to either support them or find alternatives."

If you open your eyes you'll see there has been a lot going on in Cornwall, a lot of work, house build etc

Click play http://tinyurl.com/758v2vx

"home ownership affordable again"

What is affordable? And when was it last affordable? It is very cheap now and has been on the down turn for the last 3 years. And with a low base you can fix your low interest rate for a long time, get in now.”

“Roberd. The Cornish constitutional convention and the government of Cornwall bill are primarily supported by the Cornish Nationalists; such as MK, who hold about 4% of the public vote. There has never been any recognisable consultation on these matters, at least not amongst the inhabitants of Cornwall, which is fundamentally wrong. Until that is done there is no way of determining whether these ideas have full public support or not. The sooner these matters are placed before the Cornish electorate the better! Personally, I have not come across any significant support for these political ideas.”

“We had a referendum on a Unitary Authority. That was rejected by 85% of the Cornwall County populace. It was rejected as we did not want more bureaucracy at County Hall. A referenda on an assembly would produce a higher rejection percentage.”

“New2you yes the Camborne and Redruth has had significant investement this is true. But save for more houses it does seem that development there lacks actual jobs. It remains to be seen what impact that project has on that area and the rest of Cornwall. As to affordable houses, the prices are nit cheap now most house prices in Cornwall have at least trebled in the last decafe and wages have not risen so sharply. Ten to fifteen years ago houses were affordable, people on local wages could afford to buy a home of they choose this no longer the case, if you want a definition of affordable and unaffordable that is it.
Taxman100 do you remember ten years ago when fifty thousand residents of Cornwall signed a petition calling for a national assembly? There is significant support for devolution in Cornwall you may not personally know any supporters but they most definitely exist.”

“"There is significant support for devolution in Cornwall you may not personally know any supporters but they most definitely exist."

They do "exist".

http://tinyurl.com/8yr9cde

796 have signed since August.

I think this is the reason you are harking back 10 years.”

“Roberd, from all that I can tell near 50,000 people, not necessarily residents, called 10 years ago, for a referendum on whether Cornwall should or SHOULD NOT, have an Assembly. I would have signed it so I could have voted against it, I wonder how many more did.”

“Roberd, And now you dodge the question, you said

"home ownership affordable again"

What are the details? how much is an affordable property? Can we have some pricing?”

“PS 30 years ago it was the same as it is now, hard work to buy a property. And all over Cornwall we have like then house building going on and people are buying them and it is not all 'OUTSIDERS' or "affordable"

I have heard this term 'affordable' used and abused so many times it has become a joke, the term 'affordable'! Some say it is aimed at key workers IE fireman, nurses, policemen etc It's a word without meaning, as far I understand it and you have just added more meaningless rubbish to it Roberd.

Which party do you belong to Roberd?”

“This might help,

http://tinyurl.com/3r48j3e

The Land Registry House Price Index, (November 2011)

This shows average house prices in Cornwall were £172,150.

Down 1.5.% on October and with an annual fall of 4.2%

The National Average being £160,780.

Cornwall has not the lowest average price for a house.

But neither has Cornwall the highest average price for a house.

There are areas of high unemployment and poverty where you would pay more.”

“http://tinyurl.com/75lwo9z”

“Coserg, KernowForward?

I would do a little homework before just providing a link to Coserg.”

“Slimslad thanks for the info I agree with what you say and KernowForward thanks also,

Yes I am kinda up to speed on this but interested how Roberd's assertion to make it some how different, The section 106 housing thing, and that's how I see 'thing' has been used and abused by developers, councils and political people here in Cornwall too much, all on the back of selling us some Utopian idea, there have been a number of examples of this and anyone who has attended a local housing pitch/'open day' in the last 6 years would have encountered this selling pitch "we are delivering affordable homes" bull, while a number of other developers just got on and built housing without this "win over the public rubbish"

So Roberd "home ownership affordable again" what do you mean?”

“http://tinyurl.com/72u2of4”

“Big Ger I am sure we've had this conversation before but here is a link to a post with a picture of the petition signed by 50,000 residents of Cornwall. Take note of the words "I Support the campaign for a Cornish Assembly", the petition was quite clear over 10% of the populace recognised that http://tinyurl.com/6uabsla

Newtoyou sorry but I'm not really sure what it is that I wrote that you take exception to? Affordable housing in the broadest definition means that the people of Cornwall can afford to buy their own home. I agree that the definition has been abused by developers there is no arguing with that. I would suggest that affordable housing in terms of a clear definition varies what is affordable in Redruth is most probably different to what's affordable in Bodmin, Penzance or Truro. I would suggest that the figure is somewhere around the 100 thousand pound mark for a truly affordable home. As I said before the problem needs two solutions one to regulate the price of housing and provide incentives to lowering prices and secondly to focus upon creating more jobs in Cornwall and driving up wages. The problem as I wrote before is the disparity between wages and house prices, if we raise the former and lower the latter we will back to a stage whereby people can afford to buy if they want. I don't know if that cleared up my 'assertion' or not. Let me know. Do you have any ideas yourself as to how to deal with the housing crisis?”

“The trouble you will have with lowering house prices is negative equity, I don't think you a have clue as to what you are talking about, you are now dodging the question, I take it you are belonging to a party, what party do you belong to? As it seems that you are attempting to put something forward here.

"Do you have any ideas yourself as to how to deal with the housing crisis?"

I really don't think it is as bad as many make out, but:

Cut the red tape and more house building. More housing and higher wages will require more building, not popular with the local powers to be, but take waitrose it would bring in more jobs, better pay but all I have heard is opposition to this type of thing, from people who complain about wages and jobs and hosing stock!”

“by newtoyou
"I don't think you a have clue as to what you are talking about"

I am inclined to agree with you newtoyou.

"everyone's talking about Cornish devolution"…

Indeed! We will see how this new thread on the main board takes off, if it is used properly by genuine posters that is.This should be a good and fair indicator if "everyone's talking about Cornish devolution" or not.”

“youngcornwall I am not too sure of the point you are making.”

“Is everyone talking about Cornish devolution? If so I must be deaf!”

“@newtoyou
My point is. If "everyone's talking about Cornish devolution" this new thread on the main board should give some clearer indication. This sales pitch that MK is giving out is only to try and get people talking about it, nothing more and nothing less.”

“newtoyou - Waitrose won't provide anyone with a wage that would enable them to buy an 'affordable' house, never mind one on the open market. Big companies like supermarkets and fast food chains deliberately employ people on a part time basis in order to keep labour costs down. If someone works under a certain number of hours then employers pay no NI contributions. Therefore it is a policy to employ as many on a part time, minimum wage basis as possible.

In the year 2010 - 2011 Cornwall Council provided just 63 'affordable' homes for people to buy outright. All this nonsense about having to build houses so that more affordables can be built is just that - nonsense.

Building houses is an easy option for Cornwall council. All they have to do is grant planning permission and away you go. What is more difficult, and more important, is getting the investment from companies who will provide real, full time jobs.

I would say that a definition for 'affordable' must look at the normal meaning of the word. If you go back thirty years or so no-one took it for granted that they had a right to buy a house. In order to buy a house you had to work hard and save a big deposit. I think a starting point for affordable would be five times the average wage. This would allow for a 20% deposit and a mortgage of four times average salary.

At the same time there needs to be a much greater emphasis on houses that are available to rent and I think it is crucial to begin adding to council house stock rather than selling it off.”

“"KernowForward
Waitrose won't provide anyone with a wage that would enable them to buy an 'affordable' house, never mind one on the open market. Big companies like supermarkets and fast food chains deliberately employ people on a part time basis in order to keep labour costs down."

They pay above minimum wage, and have good bonus schemes for their works lets take Tesco pool Redruth they employ a greater number of full time staff all on above the minimum wage, also they employ students which is mainly part time and a long with some other part time works, local jobs my friend! What is your problem?

£6.08 is the minimum wage for someone over 21
£4.98 - is the rate for an 18-20, I believe you will not find anyone on that wage at Tesco
Team Leader on about 16 -18 k
Cashier, earns about £6.72 ph
A Manager will earn about 44 k

But Waitrose have even better pay and it is a great company. You can't build up wages and a good market without having these kind of businesses, and Waitrose is the kind of business need. I fear this is what you get form some people, rejecting opportunities and arguing about the ownership of land! Preventing this type of investment is where the problem is.

"In the year 2010 - 2011 Cornwall Council provided just 63 'affordable'"

The Council with pay half the money for certain developments/builds such as sanctuary housing and sanctuary housing look after the rents and maintenance, this is how it is done now, so to say we need old Council housing is not really true as this is Council housing but not as we use to have it.

Affordable housing is based on the old 106, which is aimed at helping teachers, firemen etc. Retaining these skilled people which had been struggling, it also goes hand in hand with building infrastructure like schools, doctors surgeries and so on.”

“I have heard from someone who tells me MK are about change their name, it seems that the brand Mebyon Kernow (Cornish for Sons of Cornwall) is not that appealing to many who question why it is only "sons", and kinda sexiest and not engaging of the modern world, anyone have any info?”

“haven't heard that rumour newtoyou, where did you hear that?

As to your figures on wages they may well be above the minimum wage, but who can afford to buy or rent their own home on minimum wage? This is precisely the reason that such jobs attract students and others in the position of not needing to support families. Don't get me wrong I am not turning my nose up at new jobs in Kernow, they are all welcome. But we also need jobs/ industry that will actually pay a living wage or do like the Scottish Parliament and the London Assembly and introduce a living wage, (think both are £7.20 an hour).

Young Cornwall good to see you are joining the growing numbers talking about a Cornish assembly, its good to discuss these things. What did you think to the article in the Guardian yesterday about it?”

“newtoyou - you need to look at what you're saying.

I know for a fact that cashiers (even those over 21 do not start on £6.72).

However, even a cashier on £6.72 an hour - doing 20 hours (to keep them below the NI threshold) would get £7,000 per year - enough for a mortgage of say £28,000?

A Team Leader (not many compared to normal shelf stackers) even on 18k - mortgage of £72,000 at best?

Despite what you say a manager would not earn 44k - at best they start at around 20k and you would have to be in the higher echelons of middle management (or have a long service record) to get 44k.

As I said, supermarkets are not going to provide jobs that allow people to buy their own homes.

As far as your comments on affordable housing go, I would just say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. You clearly don't know what you are talking about.

So called social housing with 'affordable rents' is just as big a misnomer as their buy outright counterparts. Affordable rents are tied to market rents. This means that someone receiving housing benefit effectively means that council tax payers are subsidising the profits of social landlord companies. Wouldn't it be better to have real council owned and managed stock that didn't have to pay for someone to make a profit?

Who is your source concerning MK, they know as little about MK as you do about affordable housing.”

“Not everyone will earn big wages, can't you understand that. I can't understand the point you are making, there are 1000's and 1000's of people working in these type of jobs who are involved with buying their own homes, be it with their partners or by themselves. I fail to see your point are saying you want everyone to earn big money?

http://tinyurl.com/7r5z3cc

http://tinyurl.com/84t7c8g

You also have to bring into the county this kind of business to get the ball moving it won't happen unless the markets are moving in this way. I bet you are a super market hater!


"Wouldn't it be better to have real council owned and managed stock that didn't have to pay for someone to make a profit?"

Are you trolling me?

What are Housing Associations??????

Places such as Johns park in Redruth are basically how we now deliver Council housing, the build would be half funded by the Council and the rest in this case of Johns Park by sanctuary housing, phone up the Council and ask them about it, cheap rent and great accommodation. It is a partnership with the private sector and the local authority raising the money to build these estates, but this not private housing.

I will come back and explain some more about "affordable housing" which it not anything to do with Housing Associations. I got work to do right now.”

“Those who have anything to do with housing associations will tell you that the standard of housing, affordable rents and support from staff are far superior to private rental.

Housing associations may have been encouraged by the Tories to limit local Labour Councils, but, (in general), do just a good a job,(in a lot of cases, better), than traditional local authority housing providers.”

“This is good news, things are moving on for the better,


http://tinyurl.com/6pkzctu”

“I often think Cornwall's employment problems stem from the fact the County constantly looks backward to the days when mining, fishing and farming were the major employers. Today, mining is extinct, the fishing fleet has been decimated by EU rules & regulations, and farming has modernised; resulting in a sharp drop in the numbers being employed within the industries.
It is possible mining could return on a small scale, but even if it did its future would be insecure. It wouldn't matter how skilled the miners, how lax the environmental planning rules were, or the value of the lode underground, as the long term future of the mines would be in the hands of the investors - and, currently they are more likely to invest, in the long term, in the emerging countries such as Brazil.
Furthermore, our colleges and universities must make greater efforts to turn out those with the standards of education and skills required to support the trades/industries of the future, not those of the past. Then, we may see further healthy investment within the County.
It is the future that matters, not the past!”