FED-UP residents of the UK’s second home capital say they are being forced to live in caravans and sheds as overpriced houses are instantly snapped up by wealthy Londoners.
Families in the Cornish village of St Minver – a couple of miles inland from the Camel Estuary and Polzeath, where celebs including Gordon Ramsay, Rick Stein and David Cameron own holiday homes – say their community has turned into a ghost town, driven partly by the surge in wealthy visitors staycationing during Covid.
Surveys of the village and surrounding seaside town found almost three quarters of houses were second homes in 2021, but locals believe the rate is now far higher.
The noticeboard inside the village post office – which was itself saved by community fundraising after its previous home was sold – tells its own story, with adverts seeking classic car storage, property management companies and changeover day cleaners.
A recent planning application from a developer to turn the village’s only pub – the Fourways Inn – into six holiday lets has caused a wave of objections from villagers.
But landlord James Mercer, 69, who has run the pub since 1983, says the amount of homes kept empty all winter means it is no longer sustainable to stay open year-round.
He said: “I’m for it because if he gets permission then it’s sold and I can retire, if it’s not I can’t.
“Since Covid business has been a disaster. We have been shut since September because in the winter it just doesn’t pay to be open, nobody lives around here any more.
“In the middle of winter if you walk around at night there will be maybe three houses with their lights on.
“What used to be a healthy local trade has just disappeared because of second homes.
“Second homes are a part of everyday life but there comes to a point where it gets too much and that’s what we have now.”
Asked how he rated young people’s chances of buying a home near where they grew up, Mr Mercer said: “Fine if they have a couple of million in their pocket, if not forget it.”
Further along the main road through the village, luxury cars loaded with luggage race through to the nearby millionaire’s playground of Rock.
Janet Tatlock, who has lived in St Minver since 1999, said she feels looked down on by some ‘rude’ second homeowners who get caught out by the area’s narrow country lanes and can’t reverse.
She said: “I’ve seen a lot of changes with second homes. It’s not easy for local people any more and traffic is 20 times worse than when I moved in.
“I don’t have an axe to grind with them, for the most part they are okay as long as they are polite but some look down on you, a lot of instances they are rude and they can’t drive.
“They don’t come into the pub, I think people are drawn by the likes of Rick Stein and Gordon Ramsay but it’s always been a popular area.”
Gesturing towards a narrow street of pretty stone houses leading down to the village church, Janet revealed there isn’t a single permanent resident living there.
She said: “It’s very dark in the winter, quiet, and going down the road there are no lights on whatsoever because nobody lives there. Some people only come down two or three times a year. It’s creepy, really.
“When houses come on the market they’re so expensive local people couldn’t dream of buying them. Then they are snapped up, knocked down and replaced with something modern.
“The Cornish people hate it but it’s never going to change. I love it here but in the summer I don’t go down to Rock because it takes forever to get down there, but you learn to live with it.”
Cornwall has the highest proportion of second homes in the country and the council’s own figures rate St Minver parishes as having the highest volume of second homes, albeit they estimate a far lower 42 per cent.
The council has announced a policy to double council tax for second homes from next April but there is little optimism locally that it will bring positive change.
The most affected group is young adults, with some buying used caravans from Facebook Marketplace to park on parents’ drive or in fields.
Joe Mercer, 19, who grew up in St Minver and works in a hospitality job in nearby Polzeath, said: “I don’t know anybody my age who has been able to buy a house, most of them are still living at home.
“Living in a caravan would be a lot more affordable, that’s what my friends are doing. They have bought a caravan off Facebook marketplace and are living there at the moment but it’s not very homely.
I know quite a lot of people who have bought a caravan and set it up in their parents’ garden or in a field somewhere and are living there
Joe Mercer, 19
“I know quite a lot of people who have bought a caravan and set it up in their parents’ garden or in a field somewhere and are living there.
“It’s a lot more affordable than even a holiday park which would be £400 per month or a flat, which would be £800. It’s ridiculous.
“I wouldn’t be able to afford any of the houses in the village – I remember when I was a lot younger there used to be quite a lot of people in the village and my friends used to be here too. There’s not a lot of that any more.
“In summer you can’t drive anywhere because the roads are full.
“If you look on Facebook there are some people who are not very nice about second home owners. I don’t have a problem with them but it’s getting out of hand.
“It’s a lovely place, who wouldn’t want to come here?”
John Smith, 78, who has run the car garage in the village for 50 years, says life has changed beyond all recognition in that time.
He said: “All the houses that come up for sale are bought by people from outside the area which means people can’t afford to buy. All the council houses have been sold off so there is no stock for youngsters to have houses anywhere.
“All the youngsters are struggling, living in caravans and sheds in the bottom of the garden.
“Obviously people resent it, young people have to move away and if they do well you’ll see them move back, if not you’ll never see them again
“It’s changed the community, we have got busier and busier because in the last 50 years 50 garages have been closed and turned into holiday homes.”
On the south coast near Lizard Point, others face a bleak existence.
A mum-of-two forced to move her family into a static caravan due to Cornwall’s second home crisis reveals the move left her felling ‘ashamed’ and like she had ‘failed her kids’.
Sarah Brim, 31, her partner James, 31, and their two young kids had been living with family in a home provided by their employer but when the relative left for another job the couple had to move out.
After spending four months searching the couple – who both work and have a combined income of £43,000 – weren’t able to find a single property they could afford.
Last week they moved into a cramped static caravan in a holiday park which, ironically, is filled with Cornish people priced out of the property market by holidaymakers.
Sarah said: “It’s put a massive strain on us. My mental health has taken a real knock, we are both stressed, losing sleep over it all. It’s really hard.
“House hunting at the moment is horrific. We’ve been told we need to earn 36 times the monthly rent to even be able to view a property, never mind the amount of properties that specify either no children, or one child only.
“It’s become easier to find a property that allows pets than it is children.”
Even the humble static caravan on Cornwall’s Lizard Peninsular is costing Sarah and her family almost £1,200 – £800 per month in rent and £360 to store clothes and furniture that don’t fit in the caravan.
Despite it being temporary accommodation, Sarah has been told she will be there indefinitely until she finds a private rented property or a council house becomes available.
Around 27,000 families in Cornwall are on housing waiting lists.
She said: “It’s very cramped, we haven’t even taken half of our clothes and there isn’t enough storage at all.
“It’s basic, but it has beds for us all and a roof over our head so that’s the main thing but it’s half an hour away from my children’s school, meaning two hours of my day are now spent on going to and from the school run.”
A Cornwall Council spokesman said: “Cornwall continues to experience extreme and unprecedented pressures on housing and we have the upmost sympathy for our residents unable to find a home.
“There are many reasons for the current pressures, which were brought to a head in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The boom in house prices and demand for holiday accommodation caused a significant and sudden reduction in the availability of homes to rent.
“Private landlords moved away from long-term letting and towards the short-term holiday market, as Covid-19 travel restrictions increased the demand from people looking to holiday within the UK.
“Others sold their properties due to the high market sales prices, driven in part by the shift to working from home which saw more people looking to relocate to Cornwall.
“This was matched by an escalation in private rental costs.
“As a Council we want a Cornwall where our residents can ‘start well, live well and age well’ and having a home is an essential aspect. While there is no quick fix to the current housing crisis, we are committed to delivering suitable homes for our residents in communities where they’re needed.”
The council said it is working to build more council houses for local residents, buy open market homes to convert into affordable housing and has a new strategy to increase specialist supported and accessible housing in the county.
