Cornwall Council denies there’s any connection between record levels of net in-migration and the record number of houses being built in Cornwall (which virtually all go to local residents they say). None at all. Of course.
https://twitter.com/bernarddeacon?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
It seems that Ocean Housing, in common with the wider development lobby does not understand the housing market. As has been stated many times before, there is not an under-supply of housing. There are more homes in England and particularly in Cornwall, than there are households.
In Cornwall, lack of affordability, difficulties in renting etc are the consequence of several factors including the loss of housing to the second home and leisure home market, continued population growth, cuts in benefits and a low wage economy.
Building more houses would not solve those issues.
In August, Mark Gardner, the Chief Executing of Ocean housing, based in St. Austell, made a number of comments about housing. He stated “Insufficient levels of house-building across the country during the last 40 years have contributed to the current housing crisis, which needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency.” [West Briton, 23rd August]
As the tweet below highlights, if the population goes up you get more traffic and more congestion and you are more likely to be stuck in a traffic jam. And, no people will not be walking or cycling instead of using their cars – unless you ban cars perhaps!
Stuck in traffic today? No wonder. Last year Cornwall’s population grew about twice as fast as England’s and three times faster than Wales and Scotland. Time for a fair deal. https://twitter.com/bernarddeacon?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Cornwall’s population rose by 1.13% last year. This was a 6,292 increase, a town almost as big as Penryn. This was a record for this century – previous highest 4,707 in 2000-01. How is this ‘sustainable’? Bernard Deacon @bernarddeacon
Quite, its not sustainable. And population growth eats up any investment in facilities and jobs with the result that we are no better off.
A worrying trend in how planning applications are dealt with in Cornwall – from Bernard Deacon’s blog and Cornwall reports.
The number of planning decisions at Cornwall Council made by officers under delegated powers is steadily rising. As housing numbers rise there is less democratic control. Post-democratic Cornwall has arrived.
https://twitter.com/bernarddeacon?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Now is not the time to scrap Cornwall Council’s Strategic Planning Committee, say County Hall officials
The number of planning applications determined by elected councillors in Cornwall is at an all-time low, according to an official report.
The mismatch between projected increases in households for the ‘Local Plan’ period and the housing target gives an over-build of 14,500 houses. If you add in the 19,000 holiday homes/lets that gives a surplus of 33,500 houses!
So why are we building so many?
This week is empty homes week, when people are encouraged to report to their local authority if they know of any empty homes.
An ideal time to pinpoint all the houses used as holiday homes and holiday lets rather than permanent homes.
Ah but the definition of empty homes excludes these categories! So most empty homes will continue to be empty!
Get involved in Empty Homes Week 2018 – Monday 15 October to Sunday 21 October
Every year, local authorities see Empty Homes Week as an opportunity to organise events and put out information so that people in their area know the advice and assistance that is available locally to tackle empty homes. Empty Homes Week is also the chance to celebrate successes and reflect on what more needs to be done to bring empty properties back into use to help meet housing needs and to address the concerns of residents about neighbourhood blight.
