A KEY concern raised by people I speak with in North Cornwall is that of housing, especially affordable housing both to buy and to rent. In my view, everyone deserves to have a safe and secure place to live at a price they can afford.

I recently met with another Cornish Parliamentary Candidate and former MP, Andrew George where we discussed his Campaign for Housing Justice. This campaign has focused on addressing the issues caused by the proliferation of second homes, holiday lets, and Airbnbs, which have had significant impacts on our local communities and the housing market.

Key points from this campaign include success in reversing government tax subsidies for second homeowners through council tax discounts; campaigning for planning measures to require planning permission for converting ‘permanent’ to ‘non-permanent’ accommodation and highlighting tax loopholes that allowed second homeowners to avoid paying council tax or business rates. These loopholes have cost Cornwall approximately £14-million each year. It is long overdue that new robust regulations are introduced to close these tax loopholes, double council tax on empty second homes and introduce planning powers in order to control and regulate the proliferation of holiday homes across North Cornwall.

Andrew explained to me that the momentum behind the Campaign for Housing Justice is growing as we get ever closer to the General Election. Although the Conservatives were shamed into making announcements that they would do something about the injustices that they themselves created, virtually nothing has happened since the announcement. 

We must therefore hope that, after the next general election, we can finally prioritise first homes over second homes, and create an environment in which local need comes before developer greed in the planning and development system. We see more and more houses being built across Cornwall but very few of these are set aside for local need and are instead sold at totally unaffordable prices. My own personal experience shapes my view on this as a young person growing up here I could not afford to live and work here so I was forced to move away to look for jobs outside of Cornwall. This is not a legacy I want for our young people. 

We have launched a petition calling for housing justice by reversing tax loopholes which has permitted over £500-million of taxpayers money to be given to wealthy property investors of holiday homes in Cornwall to the detriment of local families in desperate need of secure affordable homes of their own. 

If, like me, you are deeply concerned about the housing crisis in North Cornwall, I would urge you to sign our petition. 

Sign the petition here:  bit.ly/HOUSINGCWL

Ben Maguire, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for North Cornwall