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Author Topic: Property prices in St Ives - ongoing issue and discussion  (Read 6003 times)
Chris from Nailsea
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« on: November 04, 2012, 22:45:16 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Quote
St Ives parking spaces are ^50,000 each


Each parking space is thought to be worth more than twice the average annual wage in Cornwall

Five car parking spaces have gone on sale in a Cornish resort for ^50,000 each.

The guide price of each space at Barnoon Terrace in St Ives, comes three months after another space was bought for ^55,000. The price of the spaces, about 30 seconds walk from the town centre, is more than twice the average wage of about ^22,000 in Cornwall.

A senior town councillor said: "It sticks in the throat of local people."

Andrew Mitchell chairman of the resources committee, said: "It shows the mismatch in St Ives and many other Cornish villages and towns between the local population on low wages and seasonal jobs and second home owners. It's ridiculous that many of those that live here can't afford a home. They can't even afford one of these parking spaces."

Sam Peters, of estate agent Bradleys, said that it had already had an offer of ^100,000 for two of the spaces, but had declined the offer to wait for the auction.

He said: "We have got about 60 people who are interested. There is simply not enough parking capacity in the town for the number of people that are here. And there are plenty of people prepared to pay these kind of prices."

The spaces were created from a former site of a garage and garden. The town council objected to the change, which included the loss of a hedge, but was overturned by Cornwall Council.

Mr Peters expected the buyers to be second home owners. "If a house has a parking space in St Ives the values shoots up, so the spaces will pay for themselves."



Edit to correct corruption of 'special characters' in text. CfN.
« Last Edit: April 06, 2016, 18:53:39 by Chris from Nailsea » Logged

William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2016, 18:50:28 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Quote
St Ives residents to vote on second home restrictions



Sarah has found dog excrement outside her front door again. It keeps happening, enough times that Sarah does not believe this is an accident.

"Dogs aren't normally that choosy about where they go," she says, with a nervous laugh.

Sarah's house in St Ives is one of two she owns. The other, her main residence, is in Surrey and Sarah rents out the Cornish house to holidaymakers, staying there herself on occasions. And this, Sarah believes, is why someone has decided to foul her doorstep.

"It's a message saying we don't want incomers staying. Our property has gone up in value, pricing local people out of the market."

That is certainly a common complaint in Cornwall. Wages are low, many people working seasonal jobs in the tourism industry. Yet housing costs are high, inflated by the huge demand by people who have chosen the county for their second home, to visit or as an investment.

Now, the local council in St Ives has decided to take action to change this situation. On 5 May, the council will ask residents to vote on a new town plan, which includes a promise to restrict second home ownership.

If the vote is passed, new housing projects will get planning permission only on condition that the homes are reserved for people to live in full-time. Developers will not be allowed to sell the buildings to anyone who has a residence elsewhere.

"The planning system is there to meet communities' needs," says Tim Andrewes, one of the councillors backing the plan and a member of the Green Party. He points out that some housing is already built with ownership restrictions, such as farm dwellings which must be occupied by people who work in agriculture. Similar restrictions could be applied to new residential property in St Ives, reserving it for people who need a place to live.

His view is echoed by the Conservative mayor of St Ives, Linda Taylor. She acknowledges that second home owners bring money into St Ives, spending in local shops and cafes, but thinks having so many absent owners is not good for the town in the long-term. "We don't want the community dying," she says. "We need to plan for the future."

There are more than 1.5 million second homes in England and Wales. In Scotland, about 10,000 second homes are bought and sold every year. Yet, many see this as the inevitable consequence of living in a free market economy.

Steve McTeare's architectural practice has worked on several housing developments in St Ives and is converting a disused hotel there into eight flats. He insists they should be sold to whoever wants to buy them. "We live in a democracy," he says. "You shouldn't restrict who can own a home."

Steve's argument is a pragmatic one, as well as moral. Restricting who buys a new property, he says, will put developers off coming to St Ives, meaning there is less housing supply in the long run. "A developer will always look to maximise profits - therefore restriction is going to result in less interest."

The Conservative government also opposes what St Ives is doing. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said it would interfere with people's fundamental rights. "Trying to control private ownership via the planning system will ultimately require intrusive state surveillance of every property," he says.

Mr Lewis may be out of step with public opinion though, at least in the West country. Research conducted at Exeter University found that most people in the region had a negative attitude towards second home owners living (or rather not living) in their midst.

They believe it makes buying a home far harder if some people have two steps on the property ladder, while others are struggling to reach the first rung.

Caroline is struggling. A resident of St Ives for eight years, she spends her days working in a shop and her evenings waitressing in a restaurant. Yet despite having two jobs, she says it is out of the question for her to afford even renting a flat on her own. What really upsets her is when she sees all the second homes left empty, particularly in the winter when many holiday lets sit unused, and second home owners do not come down to visit. "If it's empty, and there are people needing housing, that just doesn't make sense," she says.

There are several votes taking place in Britain on 5 May - for regional parliaments, assemblies and councils. It is fair to say the second home referendum in St Ives may not dominate the national news that day.

But housing issues are continuing to climb the political agenda. So if this town in the far south-west of England does stop developers supplying the second home market, there is a chance that other local authorities will pursue similar measures of their own.
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
LiskeardRich
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« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2016, 22:38:55 »

Good to see residents tackling the problem. It's not just st Ives, but the entire west of Cornwall at least.
Due to our growing family we had outgrown our 2 bed home in Redruth. We've found a lovely 3 bed property in liskeard, the monthly housing cost of the new much larger house plus my commuting expense to Truro is less than the monthly housing cost in Redruth of our old smaller house.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2016, 22:55:35 »

Thanks for posting that very useful 'local knowledge', richwarwicker.  Smiley

Yes, I posted those two items as being perhaps just examples of a wider issue - in Devon and Cornwall generally, apparently.

Another example of property prices in Cornwall, from the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page): Cornwall headland sale expected to raise up to ^4m

Quote


Hundreds of acres of a headland in north Cornwall have gone up for sale.

The 217 acres of Trevose Head were part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has been in the same family since about 1900, estate agents Lodge and Thomas said.

The sale of the land, either in its entirety or in plots, is expected to raise between ^3-4m, they added.

The headland, near Padstow, comprises 137 acres of agricultural land and about 80 acres of rough grazing.

It takes in Barras Bay, plus parts of Mother Ivey's and Booby's Bay. It also provides access to the local RNLI lifeboat station and Trevose Head lighthouse, which is operated by Trinity House.

Part of South West Coast Path also crosses it.

Estate agent Tim Ryland said there already has been "a number" of expressions of interest in the land, which is open to offers. He added: "It's a very unusual piece of land. There are very few properties on the headland itself. There's the lighthouse, the lifeboat station and only two or three houses."

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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
chrisr_75
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« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2016, 00:28:53 »

Good to see residents tackling the problem. It's not just st Ives, but the entire west of Cornwall at least.
Due to our growing family we had outgrown our 2 bed home in Redruth. We've found a lovely 3 bed property in liskeard, the monthly housing cost of the new much larger house plus my commuting expense to Truro is less than the monthly housing cost in Redruth of our old smaller house.


A very similar situation exists where I spent most of my life in north and mid wales, most notably on the Llyn peninsula and in Snowdonia. It is high time councils used the planning system to allow local residents half a chance to afford somewhere to buy or rent and it is encouraging to see a councils starting to explore this issue.

I know in Wales there were changes to the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 which will allow councils the option to charge a 100% premium on holiday properties from the 2017-18 fiscal year and a number of councils are currently considering this option:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-35631009
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NickB
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« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2016, 17:38:29 »

Out of interest what happens if a local resident buys one of these restricted properties but then chooses to purchase a pied a terre in Bristol or London? Do they have to sell up?
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2016, 23:32:22 »

An update, from the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Quote
St Ives referendum: Second homes ban backed by voters

Residents of a seaside town have stemmed the tide of second homes-building in a referendum to ban construction.

St Ives held the vote after a surge in holiday homes in the Cornish town and a shortage of affordable housing.

The plans mean new housing projects will get planning permission only if reserved for full-time residents.

More than 80% of voters backed the ban. However, a local firm has taken legal action over the decision to hold it.

Cornwall Council, which oversaw the referendum for St Ives Town Council, said it would "carefully consider the grounds on which the claim for the review" were made, but it was confident the correct process had been followed.

Cornwall Council said there was a 42.7% turnout, of which 83.2% voted for the ban.

The vote, in which residents were asked whether they agreed with a ban on building any housing other than "principal homes", came after the number of second homes in St Ives topped 25% of the total housing stock, according to the town council.
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
LiskeardRich
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« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2016, 06:55:15 »

For Council tax Cornwall council classify full time residents as someone residing in the property a minimum of 4 days a week average. I wonder if this will have a similar criteria.
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