The Cornwall We Want

What are your hopes and fears for the future?

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  Cornwall needs to be Forward Looking

  by Halffull, almost 6 years ago

  I am one of those second home owners. I have worked hard from a normal upbringing and after holidaying in Cornwall for many years, we bought our second home in 2003. It had been on the market for about 18 months. We are there for a few weeks each year but otherwise, I thought I was doing a good thing by renting it out - we bring people into the area and they spend money on local businesses. We employ a local property management company, a local gardener and try and use local services people.

  Cornwall has always been very... Continue reading

  I am one of those second home owners. I have worked hard from a normal upbringing and after holidaying in Cornwall for many years, we bought our second home in 2003. It had been on the market for about 18 months. We are there for a few weeks each year but otherwise, I thought I was doing a good thing by renting it out - we bring people into the area and they spend money on local businesses. We employ a local property management company, a local gardener and try and use local services people.

  Cornwall has always been very friendly to us. We have read many articles in the papers about Cornwall no longer wanting tourists and even the one in the Sunday Times last week saying that we like tourists but we dislike second home owners.

  It would be good to find a way that second home owners can help communities. Obviously we pay council tax - even when we couldn't visit during Covid - but the council should think of ways that we can work together. I think that born and bred Cornish people (as opposed to retirees) have a real point when they want their communities to be active.

  Personally, I like the hustle and bustle of Cornwall in the Summer and the hospitality businesses that have grown up and the people that run them are amazing. The nature needs to be nurtured though. We don't want Cornwall to be a deadwater.

  We will visit Coral shortly with slight trepidation and fingers crossed.
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  Traffic Restrictions - A great Idea!

  by Clare H, almost 6 years ago

  As we emerged from lockdown I became quite uneasy about the opening up of Cornwall, especially as we have all been so lucky down here, in having so few COVID19 cases, compared to most of the rest of the UK. A sudden influx of people seemed so daunting.

  And despite myself being a part of the Tourism Economy, in running 2 holiday lets in St Ives, I was still feeling quite nervous.

  We are taking quite stringent measure with our flats, and leaving 3 day gaps between bookings, to ensure the best possible cleaning is carried out, to keep the... Continue reading

  As we emerged from lockdown I became quite uneasy about the opening up of Cornwall, especially as we have all been so lucky down here, in having so few COVID19 cases, compared to most of the rest of the UK. A sudden influx of people seemed so daunting.

  And despite myself being a part of the Tourism Economy, in running 2 holiday lets in St Ives, I was still feeling quite nervous.

  We are taking quite stringent measure with our flats, and leaving 3 day gaps between bookings, to ensure the best possible cleaning is carried out, to keep the areas safe for our guests, our resident tenants, and cleaners alike.

  However, I was delighted to learn last week, that Cornwall Council have placed the traffic restriction in St Ives (as other towns in Cornwall) - I think this is very sensible, as one of my main concerns was envisaging the chaos with the amount of tourists and traffic in Fore Streets and the rest of the town centre. It certainly helped allay my fears.

  I'm sure all other accommodation providers are doing their best to keep their places clean and safe, and this should also help t keep the volume of tourists down too.

  I really think that these new traffic restrictions should now continue every year throughout the busy high season. A lot of our guests in the past have expressed their views in thinking that the town centre shouldn't be open to traffic as a general rule. I have asked our guests who have just arrived at our flats this weekend, what they think, and there was a resounding 'yes'! They think it's a very sensible decision.

  I'd be very interested to hear what other people think. I'm referring to tourist and non-essential traffic. I appreciate deliveries to businesses need to happen, and local residents need to park their cars and be able to get to work - but as is the case now, these can be kept to before 11am and after 4pm.
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  Tourism

  by Lanasgran, almost 6 years ago

  I think it is very important that we move away from any dependency on tourism. For most locals it provides seasonal, minimum wage jobs that do not benefit the County. Can we not make ourselves the IT hub of the UK. People could work from home minimising commuting so good for the environment and many well paid permanent jobs could be created and encouraged. We are selling the young people of Cornwall short by telling them that their choice is either minimum wage jobs with no career progression or leaving the County

  I think it is very important that we move away from any dependency on tourism. For most locals it provides seasonal, minimum wage jobs that do not benefit the County. Can we not make ourselves the IT hub of the UK. People could work from home minimising commuting so good for the environment and many well paid permanent jobs could be created and encouraged. We are selling the young people of Cornwall short by telling them that their choice is either minimum wage jobs with no career progression or leaving the County
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  Lockdown ups and downs

  by shack, almost 6 years ago

  I'm one of those people for whom shielding during lockdown initially provided an unexpectedly welcome chance to stop, and to regain my strength and composure. This made me realise that I'd been doing too much for too long, and that I probably should review some of my commitments going forward. This was a real wake-up call, and I'm determined as lockdown eases that I will be more selective about how much I now take on again.

  On the downside, I lost my mum during lockdown, and going through that experience with fewer of the social support systems we used to... Continue reading

  I'm one of those people for whom shielding during lockdown initially provided an unexpectedly welcome chance to stop, and to regain my strength and composure. This made me realise that I'd been doing too much for too long, and that I probably should review some of my commitments going forward. This was a real wake-up call, and I'm determined as lockdown eases that I will be more selective about how much I now take on again.

  On the downside, I lost my mum during lockdown, and going through that experience with fewer of the social support systems we used to have has been hugely challenging. In fact it still doesn't feel real. I never expected, for example, to have to drive myself to the funeral and sit apart from my family, but I did it. It was so far beyond anything I'd ever expected that it makes me wonder how much we rely on our interactions with others to validate and confirm our experiences. I hope people do get the chance to resume attending funerals in groups, once it's safe to do so. Equally, I've drawn from my own experience that we are all stronger than we think, and that we can do what seems impossible if we really have to.

  My 'new normal' post-lockdown would involve going out more in town again, and being able to stop for a chat with people, like I used to. I don't travel very far anyway, and sometimes going out feels scary - but we only get one chance at life, so it has to be done.

  I'm lucky to be retired, so perhaps it's easy for me to say because I don't have to satisfy an employer, but I hope that other people also now see the value of staying local, driving less, buying from local shops, and not rushing around as quickly as we all did before. And we must value and spend time with our loved ones, because there are no guarantees about how long we have together.

  Overall, I guess I want, for all of us, the chance to embrace life, and to follow our dreams. After all, if we can survive a pandemic, we can be who and what we really want to be. And if not now, when?

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  Three Main Issues

  by James2, almost 6 years ago

  Having read through many of the comments posted here three issues come up again and again and I agree with their importance.

  Tourism and is it beneficial?

  Clearly Cornwall will always have a tourist industry and it is an important part of the economy of the county. However we have lost sight of the old saying "you can have too much of a good thing". The present C-19 lockdown has exposed the fragility of a tourist based economy, not just here but around the world. Did we have too many tourists looking back to last year? Its impossible to be... Continue reading

  Having read through many of the comments posted here three issues come up again and again and I agree with their importance.

  Tourism and is it beneficial?

  Clearly Cornwall will always have a tourist industry and it is an important part of the economy of the county. However we have lost sight of the old saying "you can have too much of a good thing". The present C-19 lockdown has exposed the fragility of a tourist based economy, not just here but around the world. Did we have too many tourists looking back to last year? Its impossible to be completely objective, but to me the answer is that we were heavily over touristed in the high season summer but with good space available at all other times. Others have commented on the Kynance Cove nightmare and everyone could add their own example. This spoils the experience for everyone, residents and tourists alike. We need Visit Cornwall to stop promoting and targeting ever greater summer trade, indeed it really doesn't need promoting at all, and concentrate on the market outside these months. There are plenty of attractions and charities, particularly animal rescues, that would welcome off peak visitors who would have a much higher quality experience with fewer people around.

  
  

  Second / holiday homes

  
  

  Always controversial and the problem comes back to the fact that economists and defenders always point to the supposed money benefits but the real costs are hard to measure and convert to cash. They are very real and my view is that second / holiday homes are totally destructive to the community. Second home owners do not crew or launch lifeboats, volunteer for coastguard rescue, volunteer for National Coastwatch, run youth programmes, run sports clubs for all ages and generally do all the things that turn a collection of people into a community. Add your own activities its not anywhere near an exhaustive list. The problem is compounded by the fact that the most popular properties for second / holiday homes are the village properties close to where the activities take place. Sadly this is a problem CC can do little about on its own but it is not just a Cornish problem. We should contact and seek common cause with other affected areas such as Devon, Dorset and Somerset locally together with probably Hampshire, Lake District, East Anglia and any other to lobby Westminster for powers to at least make these properties contribute an amount reflecting the damage they cause.

  
  

  Over Development on Farmland

  
  

  Surely one of the greatest lessons of the C-19 problem is the necessity to shorten our supply lines and become more self reliant. It should also be remembered that the long taken for granted workers in the food supply chain suddenly became critical workers. Put this together with the necessity to rebalance our economy and destroying farmland for housing suddenly looks very stupid indeed. We need to direct much greater effort into ensuring the health of our basic industries. Cornwall is has enormous potential in fishing, farming and food generally. If the government sticks to its guns we should have much more fish to go after so lets live up to our singing and get back to basics. There are good jobs to be had that do not vanish. Of course we need to also encourage all industry, marine and engineering as well as the opportunities brought about by high speed broadband and the forced adoption of home working. What can CC do about this? We are all fed up with planning inspectors passing schemes with a theme of "yes it will be damaging but the economic benefits outweigh the costs" "In whose world?" you may ask. What CC can do is not provide any cash for infrastructue to enable development, yes I am talking about Langarth. It is a simple fact that if a developer can find a council mug enough to subsidise their development that money finds it way straight to the bottom line in the accounts and a large chunk of that goes into the director's bonus pot. The most famous example being Persimmon where one individual was intially awarded a 100 million pound bonus in one year (I typed that to emphasise it is not an error). Any CC councillor thinking of voting to subsidise any development needs to look a member of the next generation in the face and ask if they are happy to be put on the hook with their children to pay bonuses to development company directors to build houses that are too expensive for most of them to buy. So if we cannot resist the planners we can insist that dvelopments pay the entirety of their own costs. If the development is viable and required this will be no problem, if it is not it will not happen and a good thing too.

  
  

  If anyone has got this far, apologies. I have gone on longer than intended and thank you for staying with me.

  
  
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  Downderry experience

  almost 6 years ago

  Life was very different during lockdown. Lovely, peaceful. Our village cares for each other in many ways. The worst experience was that of second homers, flaunting rules, arriving in the dead of night with no regard for the village safety. As the village got quiet you could see how many second homes there were. Disgusting. Some homes are lived in just a couple of weeks a year. They buy here because they think it has a lovely vibe. They are killing it off. How long before our local shop has to close. Etc.

  Life was very different during lockdown. Lovely, peaceful. Our village cares for each other in many ways. The worst experience was that of second homers, flaunting rules, arriving in the dead of night with no regard for the village safety. As the village got quiet you could see how many second homes there were. Disgusting. Some homes are lived in just a couple of weeks a year. They buy here because they think it has a lovely vibe. They are killing it off. How long before our local shop has to close. Etc.
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  Fortunate to live in Cornwall

  almost 6 years ago

  I work in Plymouth, my wife works for Cornwall Council, when lockdown began we were both sent home by our employers to start working from home. I think we‘ve quite enjoyed it, I’m saving time and money by not having to commute, my wife says she’s more productive working from home. So the change to our work life has been for the better, though my wife does miss seeing her colleagues.

  When we’ve finished work we’ve enjoyed walking our dogs on the local trails, and as the roads have been much quieter, we‘ve gone on different walks and seen different... Continue reading

  I work in Plymouth, my wife works for Cornwall Council, when lockdown began we were both sent home by our employers to start working from home. I think we‘ve quite enjoyed it, I’m saving time and money by not having to commute, my wife says she’s more productive working from home. So the change to our work life has been for the better, though my wife does miss seeing her colleagues.

  When we’ve finished work we’ve enjoyed walking our dogs on the local trails, and as the roads have been much quieter, we‘ve gone on different walks and seen different things. There’s been are marked reduction in the amount of litter during lockdown which was good. I’ve enjoyed getting out on my bike riding local trails but also riding on the roads as the roads, I usually avoid cycling on the roads as before the lockdown I considered them to be too busy and dangerous. I’ve missed meeting friends to get out on the bike, but keep in contact on social media.

  We’ve both missed seeing friends and family, and missed going out for meals, or a coffee.

  On the whole we’ve enjoyed having more time by working from home and travelling less. I appreciate that not everyone can work from home, or wants to. We’ve enjoyed the peace of lockdown, less noise and traffic.

  When lockdown eased and McDonalds re-opened the chaos came back, and within minutes of their re-opening the litter re-appeared. We hoped that people would change their ways and become less reliant on fast food, and other superficial junk to waste money on!

  When the grants for small businesses was announced this was controversial in Cornwall, as a substantial amount was awarded to holiday lets. I think the council should regularly check the status of these holiday homes to check that they continue to meet the requirements of business rate relief. For example the council should ask the owners to provide a link to the properties agent or website, to check that the property is available for rent and is in fact rented out for the minimum number of weeks. This could potentially raise a considerable amount of council tax by removing holiday/2nd homes from the business rate relief for holiday lets.
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  Building Back Better - ideas from my community

  almost 6 years ago

  Walking during lockdown in the quiet paths and roads around St Just, I had many conversations with neighbours about what we were experiencing and ideas about how we could come out of this changed and better seemed to flow naturally. We have carried on these conversations in socially distanced Saturday morning get togethers in the centre of town. Some of the ideas so far:

  Keep shopping locally

  buy less, mend more

  have Sundays back as a day of rest for all

  encourage working on the land/ decent wages /food security

  move away from over-reliance on tourism

  conserve energy - jobs... Continue reading

  Walking during lockdown in the quiet paths and roads around St Just, I had many conversations with neighbours about what we were experiencing and ideas about how we could come out of this changed and better seemed to flow naturally. We have carried on these conversations in socially distanced Saturday morning get togethers in the centre of town. Some of the ideas so far:

  Keep shopping locally

  buy less, mend more

  have Sundays back as a day of rest for all

  encourage working on the land/ decent wages /food security

  move away from over-reliance on tourism

  conserve energy - jobs in renewables and retrofitting homes

  training people for sustainable jobs

  stop flying

  very cheap and clean public transport - cut down private car journeys

  support cycling

  work from home more

  take time to care for people

  Out of town parking in summer

  More alfresco drinking and dining in summer - creating less traffic in town and greater sense of safe community

  Creativity on the streets - singing, music and dancing to enhance wellbeing

  Involve people in politics more - Citizens Assemblies to make decisions using expert information that councils and government then have to carry out (Ireland have done this successfully)

  the conversations will continue, let's hope the actions follow...

  
  
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  St ives

  by J_J_G, almost 6 years ago

  Second home owners do not pay for local authority services and this affects community services.
  
  

  It’s not that people aren’t welcome, it’s that our communities suffer and have been suffering for a long long time. Cornwall residents are asking for protection, to protect its environment and to uphold balance. If that is undermined, none of us will be able to enjoy cornwall in the future.
  
  

  Be like st.ives and reduce or curb second home ownership. It is absolutely the right thing to do whilst we consider changes for people who live here all year round.

  Second home owners do not pay for local authority services and this affects community services.
  
  

  It’s not that people aren’t welcome, it’s that our communities suffer and have been suffering for a long long time. Cornwall residents are asking for protection, to protect its environment and to uphold balance. If that is undermined, none of us will be able to enjoy cornwall in the future.
  
  

  Be like st.ives and reduce or curb second home ownership. It is absolutely the right thing to do whilst we consider changes for people who live here all year round.
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  Valuing our Environment

  by KARMA DECHI, almost 6 years ago

  We are privileged to live in a beautiful county BUT in a country which is very London-centric. The COVID19 pandemic has proved our economic vulnerability on hospitality which has proven to be a threat to so many businesses, individuals, families and communities. We now face real pressures on all public services as the lockdown is relaxed: transport, policing, and in particular health provision as we face a possible increase in infections in the far south-west.

  We really must argue for better public services and employment opportunities for local people, but do this with sustainability in mind. Rural poverty is hidden... Continue reading

  We are privileged to live in a beautiful county BUT in a country which is very London-centric. The COVID19 pandemic has proved our economic vulnerability on hospitality which has proven to be a threat to so many businesses, individuals, families and communities. We now face real pressures on all public services as the lockdown is relaxed: transport, policing, and in particular health provision as we face a possible increase in infections in the far south-west.

  We really must argue for better public services and employment opportunities for local people, but do this with sustainability in mind. Rural poverty is hidden from public view, and education will be the key to creating a newer, cleaner and more sustainable economy for Cornwall. Fairness is an important part of this and the injustice of loading the cost for water, sewerage and beaches onto local people needs to be addressed, as does the issue of local people being able to move around the county. None of this is new - but if our local economy is to thrive we need infrastructure that is fit for purpose and does not unnecessarily burden local people financially.

  Eden has produced the most wonderful example of a business that showcases environmental issues - we should aim to make Cornwall the 'Eden of England' with extensive attention being paid to rural sustainability: that is clean water, clean food, clean energy and extensive bio-diversity. The Duke of Cornwall has long argued for this approach and the Duchy business model is likely to be attractive to overseas visitors - but perhaps more importantly with an environmental vision for Cornwall as the 'Eden of England' we could have a very powerful advocate for building a county around bio-diversity and sustainable living - BUT only if we can access our fair share of public infrastructure investment. Visitor centres and educational facilities; children engaged in environmental education etc. We have started to pay attention to when hedgerows and verges are cut to increase bio-diversity etc but without libraries, education for sustainability, major changes in our approach to human and ecological diversity - nothing is likely to change. It is time to put Cornwall first and for us to lead the way in encouraging local provision for recycling, water saving and everything sustainable. Lets value what we have - encourage all the keen gardeners by putting in place a major plan for bio-diversity etc. We MUST start by challenging the idea that any child should go hungry and use our best asset to find innovative ways of growing food in community gardens etc. Every child in our county should matter, every person, every bee, every tree (enough said for now I think)