Will Devon & Cornwall be ok to go to in July?

[EinsteinaGogo]

We are in a real dilemma.. We have to pay the balance on our holiday in the next couple of weeks which is about another £800 on top of the £400 deposit already paid.

We've gone for a self catering holiday flat on the Devon / Cornwall border for last week of June /
first week in July.

Don't really want to go if the touristy places we'd usually go to aren't open but our holiday company are only offering a reschedule so will lose our money if we cancel. We have a family wedding next year (hopefully) so we don't want to rebook.

We were pretty sure we'd still be in lockdown and be able to get a refund but now that the new rules are in place, I don't know if we are or aren't allowed to go.

AIBU to think we should be able to get our deposit back?

A lot more would be contributed to the economy if people lived in them all year round instead of towns looking like ghost towns during the winter.

I agree with you. I visit Cornwall. I rent from somebody. I wish the locals could afford to buy the house.

But then I’d be renting from the locals instead. Wound that be fair? I don’t know. Then you’d have locals raking in thousands because they were lucky enough to be born in Cornwall.

I see both sides.

My area has got a lot busier down here in the last week, roads & beaches and shops, and I'm assuming it's mostly locals.
So even if Cornwall is still closed according to the internet, it seems in practice a lot of the locals are fed up of the #StayHome message too.
So I've changed my mind, I'd say by July we will be keen to open up again.

It will depend on 5 key points, not locals being fed up as to opening up more.

Same here @ihaventgottimeforthis. Busy busy on the beach yesterday. Must be people who are relatively local as coming from further afield would be a huge effort for a day trip.

People are slowly getting on the move again.

Cornish businesses that serve the local community as well as holidaymakers seem ready for whatever comes.

But those who focus on the tourist market, close for winter and then hire in casual summer staff and are currently closed must be wondering what to do. They can’t hire yet, not knowing whether they can open later in the summer. But if they don’t, an awful lot of places in the tourist hotspots won’t be ready or able to serve the massive numbers of people that now come here each summer.

I’m in London and wouldn’t go we’re over our peak and suppose to be over it by June,so wouldn’t want to pick anything up from the likes of Cornwall etc. If you’re thinking of coming here please don’t 😉

There really are a mix of people letting out holiday accommodation. Local farmers convert barns. Local People inherit cottages, do them up and let them out. Holiday homes are owned by Cornish people as well as others.

I rather suspect some village services would be swamped if all homes were occupied by families. Doctors and schools in particular. If Cornish people want Cornish people to buy houses from them, my suggestion is to introduce a Cornish price for local purchasers. Have two markets. If you want a Cornish person to buy, close the market and offer a property at a substantial reduction for a Cornish resident. It could be though that Cornish sellers want the market value and need it. Just like everyone else.

my suggestion is to introduce a Cornish price for local purchasers

This exists now for new builds that are mostly inland - properties specifically reserved for those with a local connection (several criteria for this) and then the usual help to buy schemes. It’s a lifesaver for many.

And I’ve seen it happen informally too, in the village I live in. Properties change hands privately rather than going on the market.

Local prices for local people...if ever there was a place that's needed it's London.
I notice many in these threads speak of being unable to afford to buy a house. Many Londoners can't afford to rent a flat. Nobody needs to own a property. Everybody needs a home.

Jersey has a locals only type scheme. People born there qualify to buy or rent at much reduced prices. I'm not sure if it's the same in other Channel Islands?

I think it's better to return to mass council house building and end right to buy. All who need a home but can't afford one would be protected. There's no need to restrict people from buying wherever they want. People should be free to move across the UK.

Local prices for local people...if ever there was a place that's needed it's London

Totally agree @toffee. Even with the key worker schemes in place, London is so unaffordable for so many.

I think it's better to return to mass council house building and end right to buy. All who need a home but can't afford one would be protected. There's no need to restrict people from buying wherever they want. People should be free to move across the UK.

YES 🙌

Please don’t come until it’s safer to do so. A large proportion of our population is elderly and we have fewer hospitals than many other counties. (Cornwall really only has one equipped to deal with Coronavirus). A neighbour (I’m in Devon) who’s a GP explained to me recently that it’s believed Devon has not yet had its peak

This.

There is currently still a relatively high R number in the SW: 0.76 (according to Zoe/COVID app).

Places will still be around next year, when we've learned how to live with this virus. It's tough for everyone, but think long-term. Think about staying healthy.

And think about other people staying healthy.

We live in Cornwall and despite moving here from London we’ve not received any unpleasantness from anyone or been made to feel in anyway unwelcome.

The only tourists that grate (personally) are the ones that behave like they own the place - parking blocking the road etc, but of course people (in normal times) have the right to visit anywhere they like. (It has to be said the locals often block the road too for a chat and that annoys me too - so really it is entitled behaviour that grates not the status of the person)

I’ve noticed people locally getting het up about more people on the beach / moor in the last couple of days but it really is mostly locals from the towns now getting out to exercise more and in my opinion totally fine just as long as they are washing hands, socially distancing and so forth. No-one owns the footpaths and most of the beaches even if owned (by day NT) are open for anyone so I have no problems with people complying with the rules. My worry is the public loos are obvs not open so it’s quite hard to go for a day trip to anywhere with kids (I can see why they are closed) so people may travel further than is practical and get caught short etc which then causes additional issues.

I’ve also heard the couriering if luggage rumours but not from anyone in an actual position of knowledge.

@Sweetpea84 This made me LOL .
Thanks

And I’ve seen it happen informally too, in the village I live in. Properties change hands privately rather than going on the market

This happens all the time in my village and surrounding areas.

And plenty of new builds now stipulate a local connection.

National Trust s talking about making bookings mandatory for visiting houses. (And obviously limiting numbers that way.)

No. We're preparing for a second surge in July in Devon already.

A neighbour (I’m in Devon) who’s a GP explained to me recently that it’s believed Devon has not yet had its peak

What exactly is meant by that, can anyone explain? Are levels of infection still rising there? Or do they mean a second higher peak is expected and maybe a rolling series of peaks and lockdowns? With artificial peaks created by social distancing rather than infection and immunity, there would be another and another unless effective preventative measures of some kind remain. If they think those measures will be working and there will only be one peak, how come they haven't reached it by now after lockdown? Sorry if that makes little sense! I am feeling confused now.

Thank you for the comments everyone

We are now ok to choose a new date from the holiday company.

The first option is the 4th July which I think must be from someone else cancelling because that was what we really wanted before and was already booked up when we made our booking last year.

We think we will try to book a new date.

I’m not sure how to post a picture. This illustrates that the SW hasn’t really had a peak yet. I’m assuming that is why R is so high in the SW as there are plenty of people to spread it to!

I normally go and visit friends in London and Manchester during the Summer as Devon is too crowded (I live in Devon), but right this second it is not the right time

but right this second it is not the right time

Exactly. What is it about this that people don't understand?

@ITonyah right, but locals also engage in profit making property development. I'm from a Cornish village (but have committed the cardinal sin of abandoning my people for That London). My dad inherited a small piece of land from his mum, which he has been developing for a few houses. I suggested he might like to make them affordable, for locals, but no. And he moans about Emmets constantly.

Likewise the village I'm from has property ownership dominated by a few families. Rents are astronomical and the properties are usually in awful condition. There's no motivation to fix them up- a captive market of locals who can't move. There's also only one local building firm.

The 'poor Cornish' narrative is irritating really when I can see 40 years of resistance to diversifying the economy and yet also getting cross when people new to the area do the same. And I am Cornish...

(Not withstanding of course that Cornwall has some of the worst poverty in the country - but those are not the areas that benefit from tourism at all).

Can somebody explain to me this thing about the SW not having had its peak yet?

I read on here last week that Devon is expecting a peak in June.

Where is this coming from?