Tag: Cornwall

Royal visit brightens a summer deluge

I went to the fantastic Heartlands regeneration project in Pool yesterday, which helped kick off the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall’s three-day visit to the county.

They were greeted by lines of local people who braved the dreadful weather, makeshift rain macs and all, to greet the couple on their visit to the former tin mine, which has been transformed into what’s been described as ‘Cornwall’s cultural playground’.

There was plenty do during their two hours at Heartlands, including a tour of the adventure playground which has been designed by local kids, meeting supporters of the project, checking out the local businesses who make up the market place on the site and unveiling a stone engraved to commemorate the visit and draw links to the area’s mining industry.

Some pictures, which show the weather in its glory, are below. Thankfully, the rain didn’t take the shine off the day for those who were there.

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House prices hit home for Cornish MP

Cornwall’s house price problem hit the headlines again today, with news that local MP Stephen Gilbert can’t afford to buy a house in his constituency.

Mr Gilbert, MP for St Austell and Newquay, put his PR skills to good use by using his own circumstances to highlight the problems faced by locals who have no hope of saving for a 20% deposit in high value areas like Cornwall.

He said today: “This isn’t a ‘woe-is-me’ plea – that would be nonsense. But if I am in this position, finding it hard to save for the deposit for a mortgage to become a first-time-buyer, there must be lots of other people in a similar predicament.”

Leaving aside the £65,000-a-year headlines, he’s right to talk about the problem: Cornwall has the lowest average incomes in the country and the highest house prices, more than 15 times most people’s salaries in some areas. Those who can afford to buy are often ‘second home’ owners, who are reported to account for 10% of the local population.

He calls for better use of empty homes as one way of addressing the issue. Building more new affordable housing would help too, and the HCA is one organisation which has invested significantly in this area in recent years.

From this adversity comes some inspired community-driven solutions too. A self build scheme at St Minver, backed by a local Community Land Trust, is helping local people address the  problem. Self build is something I’ve been contemplating recently too.

Maybe though, as Michael Portillo suggested to the CIH South West conference last Friday, a fall in house prices would help Cornwall too?

Any of these is part of the solution, but can’t crack Cornwall’s crisis on its own. I’m sure local people like Mr Gilbert don’t need me to tell them that.

Three top snaps from 2010

Top snap from 2010

Having good quality photography to support our work has been tough to come by for much of this year, thanks to a spending freeze which has stopped us from commissioning any work.

But there remain great opportunities to tell your story with images. I’m grateful to partners for capturing these and sharing them with us.

Here’s a (small) collection of my more memorable snaps from 2010. Thanks to the partners who supplied these images during the year.

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Cornwall’s floods pose huge comms challenge

Flooding in Lostwithiel, Cornwall

Cornwall’s floods pose a huge challenge for the county’s public services and the communication teams that support them.

They reverted to crisis procedure, with a clear focus on getting vital information and services to areas that most need them, whilst responding to rapidly changing events.

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Time for local leaders to join new homes debate

new homes built by Ocean Housing Cornwall

The Government’s consultation over its proposed New Homes Bonus should spark some debate over how local authorities can lead housing development in their communities.

It’s a step on the road to providing new incentives to local authorities to deliver new housing that people of all ages need.

Ocean Housing Cornwall
New homes in Cornwall, delivered by Ocean Housing

This is welcome, and not least because it highlights one of the most glaring issues facing the country today: that there is not enough housing of any type to meet the needs of local communities.

Often, however, debate about the need for affordable housing loses out to objections about over-development. Any initiative that encourages local people to debate the benefits new housing can bring has to be a good thing.

It’s now up to local leaders to join the debate. I will follow it with interest and hope that many of them in the South West do.