If you're from Cornwall, how do you personally feel about tourists and second home owners?

[Beerlovingwalker]

Genuinely curious really, as an outsider that loves Cornwall.

On the one hand, it must be nice to know that so many people love the beauty of your county and I'm sure it's nice to share it. However, it also must be difficult to adjust from living fairly quietly in the Autumn/winter months, to suddenly have to share your space with so many million tourists and second home owners in the summer.

[quote AppleAppleAppleApple]@Mmn654123 literally no one else calls anyone from Cornwall that. It’s Cornish.

Anyway, you haven’t explained who is going to clean your holiday homes? Pull your pints? Rent you your surfboards if we all have to bugger off up country because you’ve decided we don’t deserve to live here any more?[/quote]
Oh I don’t holiday in Cornwall!

But if you leave, salaries will increase. Supply and demand.

Right now there is too much supply and not enough demand. If some leave, those remaining will be a more scarce asset and thus attract higher wages.

The selfless should move to Norfolk (or somewhere).

For the greater good of the Cornish!

Well at least we know that you don't live in Norfolk!

@Jellykat

2nd homeowners not only snap up the new builds around here, but push house prices up, so locals cant afford to buy. (Pembrokeshire)

I lived in Gloucestershire before here, where rules were introduced in some villages where only people who had been resident in the area for 10 years or more, or who had family in the area could buy. This was to halt the disintegration of community we now see here.

Tourists are welcome however, local businesses need the extra Summer income to carry them through the Winter months and lack of footfall.

What, even for first homes? No incomers at all? Or just for second homes?

Thank god you don’t holiday in Cornwall @Mmn654123, saves us from having to bump into you. Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed your trolling, have a lovely evening.

This might seem an ignorant question (I apologise in advance) but how can the need for tourists (a lot of whom would choose a holiday cottage over a hotel for caravan) be balanced with stopping "outsiders" buying up many homes, and keeping the town at a viable level for locals to access amenities?
Who actually polices who can buy the houses,or how often they are inhabited? The council? Estate agents?
A pp mentioned a scheme where you had to be resident for 10 years or have family there. But what if you got a job nearby and knew no one? You wouldnt be allowed? And would you be able to buy it as a holiday let or second home if your family lived there?
I'm interested as someone who does stay in holiday cottages (although we did stay on a campsite when we went to cornwall) but I can also see how places become ghost towns when they're primarily made up of holiday let's rather than permanent residences.

How would people even know? Nobody has to put up a big sign saying 'Locals only'. They don't even need to put up a sign at all.

Oh it happens - at least in Wales. I fell foul of this trying to move back from England. No properties available - everything was just gone under offer. I then re-registered using my (very Welsh) maiden name and asked for information in Welsh. I used my parents address for correspondence ( already in Wales!). Amazing how many of those properties were suddenly available .

@Mmn654123

I’m saying I don’t understand why people choose to stay living there if you can’t get stable jobs and you can’t afford property. And that there is cheap property just not necessarily what you would want to live in.

Why such resistance to migrating? That’s what others do in this situation of they can’t afford to stay. At an individual level that’s the most sensible thing to do yet people aren’t doing it. I find that bizarre. Whole families could relocate to more affordable Norfolk or Shropshire.

If you choose not to then it must mean you anticipate it will get better - you will get stable work, you will be able to buy a property. No?

Why the hell shouldn't people be able to stay where they grew up? In any case, the jobs in the hospitality industry still have to be filled by someone. When living costs mean that people are forced to move away then employers struggle for staff.

@eliope

Well at least we know that you don't live in Norfolk!

No, apparently where I live we’re all rolling in money and buying up 2nd, 3rd and 4th homes all over the country so we need not interact with local hoteliers when we want a break from being terribly important and wealthy.....

@AppleAppleAppleApple

Thank god you don’t holiday in Cornwall *@Mmn654123*, saves us from having to bump into you. Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed your trolling, have a lovely evening.

Enjoyable and informative! I will be sure to tell the Devonians that you are not Cornwallians!

"A pp mentioned a scheme where you had to be resident for 10 years or have family there. But what if you got a job nearby and knew no one? "

Then you would rent for a while and buy later. I think 5 years is also reasonable.

Its interesting to see comments about second homeowners buying up properties which isn't good for locals. Presumably those same properties belonged to a local who wanted to sell the property to anyone to make as much money as they could? Of course they weren't interested in their property being to a local at an affordable price to most locals. Locals can't have your cake and eat it!

Enjoyable and informative! I will be sure to tell the Devonians that you are not Cornwallians!

Trust me, they know.

@DdraigGoch

Equally, why should they be able to stay where they grew up? I couldn’t. Many people can’t. That’s life.

And as for employers struggling for staff. Yes. Absolutely. Then they will pay more. Isn’t that the aim? Some of you just need to leave to create a market need for increased wages. If you all hunker down and refuse to leave, that won’t happen.

Are there enough hotels/guest houses/holiday parks to house the tourists needed for Cornwall’s economy
if you don’t want them staying in any of Cornwall’s homes?
What if those tourists don’t want to stay in a caravan?

Someone said they begrudged tourists getting a shopping delivery because they don’t contribute to local shops (most places I’ve been the local shop is a good few miles away anyway).

Despite saying how not unfriendly it is so many of the Cornish people on this thread just seem quite angry and hateful at tourists who don’t appear to be doing anything wrong.

Do none of you holiday anywhere in the UK then?

@Wilkolampshade

Not just Cornwall where first time buyers can't buy and the young are priced out though is it? On my street in a fairly stabby part of London a one bed flat will set you back well upwards of 450k.

The difference is that wages are much higher in London, and presumably, as it's 'stabby', it's not full of tourists and second home owners. I live in Falmouth.....the lovely tourists are welcome; if they are lovely, I tell them some of the secret, hidden places of beauty, if I'm sure they will respect them. I don't depend on tourism directly or indirectly for my income, by the way. What has ruined Falmouth is the university....which is actually in Penryn, but that doesn't have any beaches to attract the students; so many houses of multiple occupation, endless trendy bars instead of useful businesses; Falmouth is a large town and now has no greengrocer, no hardware shop, no haberdashers. So much anti social behaviour, drugs, noise, nowhere to park. Students parents often buy a house for them whilst they're here; driving prices up. At Christmas it's lovely, like it used to be. Cornwall itself is blighted by second home owners, it's true.

It’s threads like these that mean I never press go on applications to come to work in Cornwall.

I’ve faced enough othering living in England for having a Scottish name/accent/using Scottish words that I simply can’t look at the prospect of being even more of an an outsider long term were we to move. My parents are originally English but have been in Scotland since the 70s and indyref brought out some horrific ill feeling towards ‘Westminster’ and ‘The English’. Clearly they don’t actually belong anywhere near as much as they thought they did.

Wonder if this ‘incomer’ dislike affects the ability to attract in ‘useful’ incomers like senior doctors from low number specialties etc.

There are plenty of 2 bed houses on rightmove in Cornwall for around 120k. Maybe it's living in the south east but that seems pretty affordable to me, but then I paid £220k for my first 2 bed house which I only got by scrimping and saving and working bloody hard to save a deposit. Other people I know lived in Park homes so they could save for a house or moved to less desirable areas. Cornish people are not alone in not being able to buy in the particular area they want to. "why should I" isn't really a phrase that gets you far in life

@Mmn654123

My family come from Cornwall, i was bought up here but your dead right, you go where the work is.
My Granddad went in the navy, his dad worked in S.Africa in the mines there, my mum became a nurse London, i also moved to London and worked in Sweden and SA.
We all came back and bought property here and you know what? loads of my friends did similar inc many who worked in EU, that avenue has now closed for all but the most skilled - exactly the same people who don't really need it.

BUT the difference is now, that its highly unlikely anyone moving away from here will ever be able to move back.

@EmpressWitchDoesntBurn

It seems wrong that people are allowed to buy second homes. I suppose any kind of law curtailing that would be a massive vote loser though.

Best way to deal with this is to make big increases to council tax on second homes to go into the local economy.

I’ve taught so many young university students from Cornwall who tell me stories of chronic deprivation and inflated house prices due to the 2nd home/ holiday home issue. It prevents young people from settling down there even when they do have work locally.
The problem is not specific to Cornwall, and the solution is easy and it’s down to political will to prevent this.
Either by using high levels of taxation of 2nd home/ holiday home ownership or by preventing people who don’t work in the area to buy up 2nd homes there. But unfortunately our Government gets a lot of money from rich donors so the problem won’t go away until there is a radical change in Government. People just need to vote better if they want change.

[quote jasjas1973]@Mmn654123

My family come from Cornwall, i was bought up here but your dead right, you go where the work is.
My Granddad went in the navy, his dad worked in S.Africa in the mines there, my mum became a nurse London, i also moved to London and worked in Sweden and SA.
We all came back and bought property here and you know what? loads of my friends did similar inc many who worked in EU, that avenue has now closed for all but the most skilled - exactly the same people who don't really need it.

BUT the difference is now, that its highly unlikely anyone moving away from here will ever be able to move back.[/quote]
I think that’s the case in most places - property prices are disproportionately high compared to salaries everywhere. It’s not unique to Cornwall and it’s not just driven by second home owners. It will get much worse now people can work from home more - the one home folk will be heading for beautiful locations too!

*And it can't be as simple as banning people from owning more than one residential property as there will always be a need for rental stock.

There’s a massive difference between buying houses as a business and a local renting out a place when their parents go into a home.
There’s a massive difference between a property designed for those that don’t have the means to buy ( HA or council) and someone getting rich on the back of it.

Tap water is an expense with rules and regulations so everybody has fairly priced access to it. No idea why housing isn’t thought of in the same way.

Then you would rent for a while and buy later. I think 5 years is also reasonable.

But who would you rent from if second properties are not permitted? Or ok for people who live in the village (or their family) to own one to rent out? Would that also not push up prices for ftb there? (I can see though, that permanent renters rather than holiday renting, would contribute to the community and keep things like shops, gps, schools, etc )

I think it would seem sensible to rent in an area before deciding if it's a suitable place to live.. but 5 years seems quite a long time.

@Thewinterofdiscontent

*And it can't be as simple as banning people from owning more than one residential property as there will always be a need for rental stock.

There’s a massive difference between buying houses as a business and a local renting out a place when their parents go into a home.
There’s a massive difference between a property designed for those that don’t have the means to buy ( HA or council) and someone getting rich on the back of it.

Tap water is an expense with rules and regulations so everybody has fairly priced access to it. No idea why housing isn’t thought of in the same way.

Exactly I totally agree - this is a multi-solution problem that councils need to address with an integrated plan that tackles both housing, employment, business development + the infrastructure for any specific local issue (such as tourism in these national beauty spots)

So somewhere like rural Cornwall needs a percentage of social housing run by the local authority, incentives for property investors to buy and maintain housing which helps permanent residents who want to privately rent do so at a reasonable cost. Some kind of financial penalty / incentive for second home owners to keep their homes useful and occupied for the majority of the year. And a strategic approach to how to maintain key local services like schools and doctors etc.