St Austell move?

[sunandbreeze]

Hi, We are thinking of moving to St Austell because much of my family are down in Cornwall and st Austell seems to be quite cheap compared to the rest of the county. Is there a reason for this? We don't need to worry about schools as our DC have left home now.
Thanks a lot!

The surrounding area is very nice, but St Austell itself is a horrible place to be blunt. The worst place in Cornwall I would say. Grim town centre full of empty shops, has been like this for a very long time. Big drug problem as well I gather. Doesn't seem to have had any investment since I moved to Cornwall 18 years ago.

St Austell is an industrial town with the China clay pits and the brewery. The town itself isn't coastal (although not too far) and the high street is pretty dead. The town also holds one of the most deprived areas in Cornwall with a big drug problem- comparable to Redruth, Camborne and Penzance.
There really isn't a lot there to be honest!

St Austell is pretty grim to be honest. I wouldn't want to live there

Hi, We are thinking of moving to St Austell because much of my family are down in Cornwall and st Austell seems to be quite cheap compared to the rest of the county. Is there a reason for this?

Yep, it's dull, depressing and rough.

Avoid Camborne and Redruth too.

St Austell is seen as a rough/not very nice place to live by a lot of people. There's also quite a lot of new housing being built, in part due to the Lithium mining nearby. Ironically, at least one of the schools in St Austell gets good results, although it is an ultra strict academy type place.

However, a lot of people are being forced out of the nicer towns nearby, and moving in, so it does have the potential to improve.

If you want to be in mid Cornwall, maybe have a look at Bodmin or Camelford? I think people will say similar about Bodmin compared to St Austell, but it is a bit nicer and does have things going for it, like the renovation of the jail, the new college, the camel trail, etc. I know a few people moving there having been priced out of Wadebridge etc.

Camelford is probably a bit more expensive again, but a bit nicer again than Bodmin (IMO)- but less there and no train links if that matters to you.

If you're willing to share your budget and the sort of house you're after, perhaps we can make suggestions?

It's a bit of a gritty juvenile review but try looking at Turd Towns Cornwall on YT. I think St Austell was the top one, from memory.

It's known locally as St Awful for a reason! In mid-Cornwall how about Bodmin or one of the bigger pit villages? Nanpean, St Dennis or St Stephen?

I checked. Get this. It was worst. I noted the crime statistics as something like 54/1000. However, in a recent video he sang the praises of Carlisle, but that had crime statistics of 111/1000 - more than double. Who knows. I guess you need to experience things yourself.

Don’t do it.

We call it St Awful for a good reason! Don't do it!

What is your budget? What are you after? The most attractive places around St Austell are expensive for a reason.Charlestown,Fowey,Tywardreath,Lostwithiel,Lanhydrock.All lovely places to live.Lostwithiel has a beautiful river, vibrant community and a mainline station Penzance to London.Places that are cheaper are cheaper for a reason I am afraid.Tell us your budget for more help.

Yep, budget is key in Cornwall. Are we talking St Mawes or St Austell budget.

The most desolate and depressing place i've visited in England (and it was a nice day in August the other week). Just horrible.

I really wouldn't unless I had to. I also wouldn't consider the clay villages unless I had a reason to live up there (work etc). St Dennis had a bad heroin problem a few years ago. I'd choose Bodmin or Liskeard over St Austell.

I used to live in St Austell about 10 years ago and it had a bit of an edge to it then; now the town centre is somewhere I wouldn't walk through after dark - it feels quite menacing.

I am quite surprised at someone suggesting that it's cheap though - it never used to be. If I absolutely had to be in that area I'd look at Par and surrounds, Luxulyan, Sticker etc. Lostwithiel is lovely but increasingly blighted by holiday homes.

I'm also surprised at the Redruth bashing - yes it's got a few problems but it's got a genuine community feel and some lovely housing stock (if you do your research and don't buy anywhere near a mine shaft).

Yep I'd steer clear of St Austell itself if you've got a choice, plenty of ok housing but the town is a dive sadly. Much nicer small towns & villages elsewhere close by.
Good for transport links though.
I do quite like the clay country villages, but they're not picture postcard like the coastal places.

Hi there,

I moved to St Austell last year from an affluent town in the South East. It has struck me compared to the town I used to live in that St Austell has had a bad deal over the last couple of decades, with some unwise investments, and the town really needs some imagination and a lot of love.

In regards to relocating to St Austell, you can certainly get a lot more for your money’s worth than in the South East. I wouldn’t recommend living in the actual town centre, (nor the clay villages like Bugle or Roche…could be a little isolating potentially for an outsider) but around the outskirts are some neighbourhoods and little communities (For instance, Slades Road and the little coffee shop that has opened up there recently) and depending on which side of St Austell you are you could be 10 minutes walk
into Charlestown, or within 5 minutes walk
of the clay trails which are great for dog walking and views.

St Austell itself is on the mainline train into London Paddington, and it is possible to get the first train out in the morning, be in Central London by 10am and get one of the last trains back and be home before midnight should you have any work obligations you need to attend.

The primary schools are for the most part good or outstanding and the secondary schools are both good.

There is a good GP surgery with a couple of locations, and a community hospital which has a minor injuries unit, midwife led birthing centre, X-ray, physio and other scanning departments saving you the hassle of going to Treliske in Truro on occasion.

Carlyon Bay is a huge expanse of beach 5/10 minutes away, then you also have Par, Pentewan, Porthpean again all within very easy reach. Also you can get to Mawgan Porth on the north coast in under 30 minutes (and so the airport). Kings Wood and the Pentewan Trail are also just outside of the town.

Fowey, Mevagissey and Lostwithiel are all short car journeys away, as is the Eden Project and Lost Gardens of Heligan. There are also cold water swimming clubs and gig rowing clubs nearby.

The one drawback really is the town centre as there aren’t that many shops now, and you do see the deprivation…there needs to be some love put back into the town as I mentioned at the beginning. It’s got so much going for it, and I think it’s unfair that it is has the nickname St Awful…there is a lot of potential here.

You'll be glad to know then that not everybody calls it St Awful.

Quite a few people call it St Borstal.

Agree with PP, it’s known as St Awful locally. It’s got a huge drug problem, they tried to reinvent it a few years ago and it looked great but completely failed because you can’t polish a turd.

I live in Par and agree with everything @Sunskyandsaltyair has said. One thing she didn't mention was the leisure centre which is very reasonably priced for locals.
Where I am it's very safe and there are beaches, walks, pubs & restaurants. We're also on the main line to Paddington.
The only time I venture into Snozzell is to go to the cinema (which is a good one) but we always go to the early screening.