Cornish peer says building new towns and communities could fix Cornwall's housing crisis
Former MP Lord Taylor also wants new rules to stop houses being turned into second homes
Building more communities in Cornwall rather than "unattractive housing estates" could help ease the housing crisis according to a former Cornish MP.
Matthew Taylor, now Lord Taylor of Goss Moor, was formerly the Liberal Democrat MP for St Austell and Truro, and has campaigned for more support to tackle housing problems in Cornwall for decades.
With the current crisis leaving people unable to find homes to rent or buy it has brought what has always been a pressing issue in Cornwall to the forefront.
With numbers of people looking to move into Cornwall on the rise thanks to people realising how easily they can work from home and with the number of properties being purchased and used as second homes and holiday lets many have described it as a "perfect storm" which has left local people unable to find suitable housing.
Lord Taylor, a life peer, has worked for years with different governments on helping to reform planning policy as well as developing neighbourhood planning policy and garden communities. He has also previously been chair of the National Housing Federation.
He said: “It is not new that there is a serious housing shortage in Cornwall and as a result house prices are far above local wages. We also have people coming into Cornwall seeking homes from other parts of the country, although we know a lot of people coming into the county are returners, not all, but some are.
“When I was MP in 2008 we saw house prices peak at that time before the crash, we had some of the highest multiples of house prices (compared to earnings) in the country. But we have never seen anything as remarkable as the last 18 months when the market has gone completely mad as people realise that living in the city has been a nightmare during coronavirus and has made them reassess and want to move to the coast and country. That has made it a lot worse. It is a perfect storm in lots of ways".
Having been involved in housing both in Cornwall and on a national basis what would the Cornish politician do to tackle the crisis?
“I always believed there were two fundamental parts to the answer,” he explained.
“The first is to build more homes. This isn’t just people moving into Cornwall, we have had the second great baby boom and older people living much, much longer in their own homes.
“Most people who are buying homes in Cornwall will be local, but the number of over 65s is doubling between 2010 and 2050 and when that is combined with the baby boom it is obvious you will have a problem.
“The question is how you build the new homes, most of my work has been about sustainable development – they have to be really well designed and should be built as communities and not as unattractive housing estates.
“We have got a couple of good examples in Cornwall – Nansledan (in Newquay), where you see really lovely homes but you also have shops, squares, a school and other services alongside them.
“And there is West Carclaze Garden Village (in St Austell) that is starting to come out of the ground with homes that are in a different style but really high quality and will provide fantastic opportunities for people to have a great lifestyle. The majority of homes there will be for local people.”
West Carclaze Garden Village has also been designed to provide facilities such as schools, shops and other services at the same time as homes are built rather than being provided afterwards to ensure that people living there will have access to the services they need when they move in.
Lord Taylor said: “These are new communities which are being created and not ruining historic communities around Cornwall with often poor quality housing estates – that is the best way to do it. There are opportunities to do it really well.
“If you go to Nansledan, if you haven’t been there I recommend walking around it, it will be 4,500 homes over time, which is a considerable number, but it is in a sustainable community, there is already a school and shops, the things that people need in a form that is very, very attractive.
“We will see at West Carclaze that the people who live there will have access to the most amazing landscape and countryside as well as all the facilities that they need – they will not need to drive to access those local services, they will be provided in that community.
“I hate government housing targets as they lead to the worst kind of estate-style developments that are deeply unattractive.”
He added: “My mantra has always been that we shouldn’t build homes, we should build communities – there is nothing more unattractive than a housing estate with no pub, shops or facilities where people have to drive.
“We have built communities in this country for centuries and there is no reason why we can’t do it now.”
The second element which Lord Taylor feels is required to help ease the housing crisis is to protect homes in communities so they can be used as primary residences.
“The second part is there is no point in building lots more homes if, faster than you can build, homes are being turned into second homes that were first homes. This is particularly an issue in the seaside villages – we have something that has been lived in for 200 years and now being turned into a holiday let and not available to the local community.
"This is particularly an issue in seaside communities as you can’t build new homes there to replace those lost as you would destroy areas of outstanding natural beauty which we need to protect.
"Any change of use of a home should be subject to planning permission so that people can’t just take a home which has been lived in by families for hundreds of years and turn it into a second home. Those attempts to do that should be refused.
"That would be a much more effective restraint than suggesting you just raise council tax for second homes. The kind of people who can afford to buy a holiday home for cash can afford any council tax rise, it would not prevent homes being used as second homes or holiday homes.
"I think also that if you go into taxing them it would tax existing holiday homes which are operated as businesses and which are a part of our tourism offer. It is better to have other controls to prevent more homes being turned into second homes or holiday lets".
By building homes as part of communities Lord Taylor says it will also help to provide affordable homes for local people – building on a larger scale will ensure more affordable homes can be provided.
Building more communities in Cornwall rather than “unattractive housing estates” could help ease the housing crisis according to a former Cornish MP.
Matthew Taylor, now Lord Taylor of Goss Moor, was formerly the Liberal Democrat MP for St Austell and Truro, and has campaigned for more support to tackle housing problems in Cornwall for decades.
With the current crisis leaving people unable to find homes to rent or buy it has brought what has always been a pressing issue in Cornwall to the forefront.
With numbers of people looking to move into Cornwall on the rise thanks to people realising how easily they can work from home and with the number of properties being purchased and used as second homes and holiday lets many have described it as a “perfect storm” which has left local people unable to find suitable housing.
Lord Taylor, a life peer, has worked for years with different governments on helping to reform planning policy as well as developing neighbourhood planning policy and garden communities. He has also previously been chair of the National Housing Federation.
He said: "It is not new that there is a serious housing shortage in Cornwall and as a result house prices are far above local wages. We also have people coming into Cornwall seeking homes from other parts of the country, although we know a lot of people coming into the county are returners, not all, but some are.
"When I was MP in 2008 we saw house prices peak at that time before the crash, we had some of the highest multiples of house prices (compared to earnings) in the country. But we have never seen anything as remarkable as the last 18 months when the market has gone completely mad as people realise that living in the city has been a nightmare during coronavirus and has made them reassess and want to move to the coast and country. That has made it a lot worse. It is a perfect storm in lots of ways".
Having been involved in housing both in Cornwall and on a national basis what would the Cornish politician do to tackle the crisis?
"I always believed there were two fundamental parts to the answer,” he explained.
"The first is to build more homes. This isn’t just people moving into Cornwall, we have had the second great baby boom and older people living much, much longer in their own homes.
"Most people who are buying homes in Cornwall will be local, but the number of over 65s is doubling between 2010 and 2050 and when that is combined with the baby boom it is obvious you will have a problem.
"The question is how you build the new homes, most of my work has been about sustainable development – they have to be really well designed and should be built as communities and not as unattractive housing estates.
"We have got a couple of good examples in Cornwall – Nansledan (in Newquay), where you see really lovely homes but you also have shops, squares, a school and other services alongside them.
"And there is West Carclaze Garden Village (in St Austell) that is starting to come out of the ground with homes that are in a different style but really high quality and will provide fantastic opportunities for people to have a great lifestyle. The majority of homes there will be for local people".
West Carclaze Garden Village has also been designed to provide facilities such as schools, shops and other services at the same time as homes are built rather than being provided afterwards to ensure that people living there will have access to the services they need when they move in.
Lord Taylor said: "These are new communities which are being created and not ruining historic communities around Cornwall with often poor quality housing estates – that is the best way to do it. There are opportunities to do it really well.
"If you go to Nansledan, if you haven’t been there I recommend walking around it, it will be 4,500 homes over time, which is a considerable number, but it is in a sustainable community, there is already a school and shops, the things that people need in a form that is very, very attractive.
"We will see at West Carclaze that the people who live there will have access to the most amazing landscape and countryside as well as all the facilities that they need – they will not need to drive to access those local services, they will be provided in that community.
“I hate government housing targets as they lead to the worst kind of estate-style developments that are deeply unattractive".
He added: "My mantra has always been that we shouldn’t build homes, we should build communities – there is nothing more unattractive than a housing estate with no pub, shops or facilities where people have to drive.
"We have built communities in this country for centuries and there is no reason why we can’t do it now".
The second element which Lord Taylor feels is required to help ease the housing crisis is to protect homes in communities so they can be used as primary residences.
“The second part is there is no point in building lots more homes if, faster than you can build, homes are being turned into second homes that were first homes. This is particularly an issue in the seaside villages – we have something that has been lived in for 200 years and now being turned into a holiday let and not available to the local community.
“This is particularly an issue in seaside communities as you can’t build new homes there to replace those lost as you would destroy areas of outstanding natural beauty which we need to protect.
“Any change of use of a home should be subject to planning permission so that people can’t just take a home which has been lived in by families for hundreds of years and turn it into a second home. Those attempts to do that should be refused.
“That would be a much more effective restraint than suggesting you just raise council tax for second homes. The kind of people who can afford to buy a holiday home for cash can afford any council tax rise, it would not prevent homes being used as second homes or holiday homes.
“I think also that if you go into taxing them it would tax existing holiday homes which are operated as businesses and which are a part of our tourism offer. It is better to have other controls to prevent more homes being turned into second homes or holiday lets.”
By building homes as part of communities Lord Taylor says it will also help to provide affordable homes for local people – building on a larger scale will ensure more affordable homes can be provided.
“If you put them together you can meet local need and deliver affordable housing and you can reduce the pressure on housing in Cornwall".