Cornish Social & Economic Research Group

Image above: Slate advertising plaque on holiday home wall, St Ives cottage. ( © CoSERG )

Property professionals have blamed the slowdown of the second home market for growing pessimism in the region's housing market. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said nationally eight per cent more of its members reported a fall than a rise in property prices in July. This is the first time the survey has recorded a fall in house prices since July 2009.

For more...www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news

Thousands of wildlife habitats, including refuges for some of the country's rarest species and sites recognised worldwide for their importance to nature are under threat from development every year. The scale of the problem - from small garden-grabs to the construction of major housing estates, ports and roads - is revealed as the Guardian today launches a project called Piece by piece, to expose the creeping threat to Britain's natural world.

Jonathon Porritt, one of the UK's most influential environmental experts, said Piece by piece, a dedicated website that will collect evidence of developments and challenges to these , was "desperately" needed.

"If it's been badly needed over the last few years, I think that need is likely to become absolutely desperate over the next few years," said Porritt, former head of both Friends of the Earth and the government's Sustainable Development Commission.

For more...www.guardian.co.uk/environment

Image above: Boiler Works Road fields, Camborne - proposed 'green field' land for housing development. (© CoSERG )

In the 1980s Thatcher's Right to Buy devastated council housing in Cornwall. With house prices soaring out of reach of Cornish wages, decimating the number of council houses produced a housing crisis that we're still grappling with a generation later. In coastal villages in particular it also dealt a serious blow to local communities, transferring housing from indigenous families to the new Cornish and to second home owners.

For more...http://cornishzetetics.blogspot

Wadebridge could be given a £500,000 cash boost for town and community improvements. The rumoured half a million pound sum would come from Morrisons, one of three supermarket giants trying to build in the town. The money would be made available through a 106 planning agreement providing consent for a new store is granted. The company has already approached Wadebridge Chamber of Commerce and asked for a wish list of community projects it could help with.

Comment
At first the idea of a half million pounds for community benefit sounds desirable. Doubtless the issue of where to turn for funds when public spending is being cut will be raised as a reason for supporting the proposal. But there are some important issues here. In effect the planning gain concept introduced under a past Conservative government can be seen as a bribe to the local community. Supermarket chains will compete to gain support for developments, not on planning merits but on which one provides the best inducements.

A vital reform of the planning system is required here so that proposals are considered on their merits - what would be the impact of the proposal on the existing retail sector? What would be the impact on traffic generation? Is the land in question appropriate for development?

Funding for worthwhile projects should come out of taxation and supermarkets should be charged for the costs they impose on the community.

For more...www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news

Trelawney Alliance has announced their intention of fighting the proposed Treswithian Intersection and plan to hold a public meeting later this month. They feel that it is vital that local people should be made aware of what is proposed for their area.

Alliance chairman Jean Charman stated. ‘The sole purpose of this intersection is to facilitate the proposed building of some 2,000 new homes in the Treswithian, Penponds. Boundervean Lane and Park Holly areas. It will also lead to the demolition of Blaythorne, the former Holmans Sports Club. Cornwall council Officers have already stated that these houses are for 82% inward migration, how can this area cope with a possible extra 4,500 cars?

Press release... Trelawney Alliance

Plans to create a peninsula-wide body to boost the economic prospects of the Westcountry have been virtually killed off by resistance in Cornwall. The Western Morning News understands a statement is soon expected on the economic relationship between Devon and Cornwall as the deadline nears for alternative plans to the sprawling South West Regional Development Agency (RDA), which is soon to be abolished. But a formal "Devonwall" partnership, championed so the region can punch its weight when bidding for Whitehall funding, has been largely rejected in Cornwall.

Details of Cornwall Council's intentions have emerged after a motion in support of the formation of a local enterprise partnership (LEP) representing the county was unanimously passed by councillors. Sandra Rothwell, head of economic development of Cornwall Council, who is assembling the local authority's bid, indicated that a "bespoke" body for Cornwall, and possibly the Isles of Scilly, was the favoured option.

Councils in Devon had been working up plans to form a "peninsula-based" Devon and Cornwall LEP, and last night expressed disappointment that Cornwall appeared to be going alone.

Comment
Formation of a Cornwall LEP is to be welcomed, it accords with the aspirations for a Cornish Assembly and retains Cornwall's integrity. Supporters of 'Devonwall' seem to have forgotten that it was the abolition of 'Devonwall' that ensured Cornwall was eligible for European funding. As for the private sector calling the shots, a partnership is a partnership and where public funds are involved such a body should be accountable to elected representatives in Cornwall.

For more...www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news

Average house prices in Devon are on the verge of passing the £200,000-mark after the latest figures showed homes in the county increased nearly 10 per cent in the last year. The latest information released by the Land Registry show the average cost of a home in Devon now stands at £197,341, while the figure for Cornwall is £190,265. According to the House Prices Index, released on the 20th working day of every month, house prices in Devon are up 9.1 per cent on the same time last year. In Cornwall, buyers in June this year are paying an average of 7.8 per cent more than they would have 12 months earlier. That figure is below the national average increase of 8.4 per cent.

Image left: Carbis Bay 2 bedroom housing development, starting price £230,000. ( ©CoSERG August 2010 )

Comment
With house prices up there will be increasing concern over housing affordability in Cornwall. There are also questions as to why house prices are rising after a severe recession. Is it lack of supply, excess demand? What are the dynamics of the second home and investment markets?

[We apologise to readers who might point out that technically neither Devon or Cornwall are in the Westcountry!].

For more...www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news

About 2,000 council jobs in Cornwall are to be axed in a bid to save £110 million over the next four years in local government spending. The shock announcement came yesterday as Cornwall Council chiefs revealed they would be setting their own emergency budget for next year in November. The move comes ahead of the outcome of the Government's spending review.

Comment
The fall-out from the new Governments policies of cutting public expenditure continues apace. Any job cuts whether during the recession or in the recovery phase are harmful, to the individuals concerned, the community and the wider economy. Government policy ignores these issues oblivious of the impact.

For more...www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news