On March 28 2023 Simon Jenkins wrote in Country Life magazine an article proposing a solution for second homes. It is a utopian ideal , the flowery language of the countryside and calling on the reader to feel sorry for the hard pressed city dwellers who own a small piece of the countryside as a retreat from the stresses of city life with the threat of council tax being raised to £18,000 on second homes a year (though if you can afford to pay £400,000 upwards for a second home then is that really a threat?). And proposing a charter for second homeowners in a way that could enrich and support communities . But just like Sir Thomas More’s original text it is a no place and a fantasy.
Simon Jenkins is writing about second homes across the UK but if you put his article into the context of Kernow it is at best hopelessly naive.
It could be said there is a hierarchy for housing within Kernow,which has created a ripple that has altered the very fabric of life within the Duchy,The hierarchy can be broken into three distinct social groups:
1.The Affluent: At the top are the affluent, these are people who already have a fair degree of wealth or are employed in industries paying far above the average wage, who can afford to purchase a home in Kernow. This may be a family home,or for occasional use,holiday rental or as investment.
2. The Relocators : In the middle are relocators who often already own a home in another part of the UK and have decided to sell and relocate to Kernow,they may be retirees or families looking for a better quality of life.
3. The local population: At the bottom are the local population, those either born or have lived most of their lives in the Duchy, who due to lower local wages are unable to rent or purchase in their town or village due to competition from the above groups.
The impact of the first two groups on villages and to a degree towns in the Duchy affect the third group:
1 A rise in house prices, particularly in more scenic areas due to demand from the first two groups, this rise is mirrored by private rents which are unaffordable to those on a local wage.
2 The social networks that have been built over many years or generations and underpin village life or to a degree town life become fractured or broken leaving many of the original inhabitants feeling isolated with the arrival of new inhabitants,
3 The cost of living rises as services change to mirror the needs and incomes of the new residents.
4 Demand for the right sort of housing from the the first two groups alters Kernow’s landscape as developers seeking to capitalise on the perceived wealth of the first two groups seek permission for developments in areas that would once have been deemed unsuitable such as rural greenfield and coastal sites .
Compare this to the charter that Simon Jenkins sets out.:
‘One solution would be a voluntary second-homes charter, drawn up by councils and offered to all newcomers.
They would pledge always to use local shops and employ local services.
They should try to keep their properties occupied as much as possible, if not by themselves, then by family, friends and others.
They will respect local traditions and support local clubs and charities.
They will understand that these communities are composed of people, not merely nice buildings and nice views.’
Can these two statements exist together ? I don’t think so.
The belated recognition of the Cornish as a national minority and its claim to protect Cornish identity and culture and the ongoing campaign to force the government to give the Cornish the full recognition they are entitled to under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities should mean that Cornish villages in particular coastal villages which are often given over to second homes and holiday lets should have protection to so they are not ghosts towns in the winter months and a transient population in summer. Simon Jenkins charter could never work as it is both voluntary and unenforceable.
Further on in the article Simon Jenkins states:
“Long-established rural communities are famously tight knit and averse to outsiders. From France’s Manon des Sources to Suffolk’s Akenfield, they instinctively resist intrusion. But what was gradual has become a torrent. Working from home, ‘staycationing’ and Brexit’s obstacles to second homes in France have seen a shift in how the better off spend their money. They feel it unfair to be denied a retreat from a hard-working week in the city, just as it is unfair on locals to be denied the open-market price for their property. It may be reducing the availability of housing for long-term rent, but that is happening everywhere. Beautiful villages are becoming like very expensive parts of towns.
Where argument becomes more trenchant is over the impact of newcomers on community cohesion. Here, there seems to be a crucial difference. Terraces of boarding houses, holiday lets and Airbnbs cater for tourists, anonymous comers and goers who have no contact other than the commercial with local people. Second homers, on the other hand, can develop a strong local commitment to their alternative residence. They have invested by choice in a particular place, either through some family link or through having holidayed there in the past. They frequently stay on in retirement or become ‘first homers’, with the city as their second one.”
Simon Jenkins proves he does not understand the impact of second homes on community cohesion because in many of the more sought after villages there is no established community anymore. A village is more than just scenic views and bricks and mortar. The history of a village can be written down but more often it is a shared oral history, events that had happened or people who had once lived in the village were remembered anecdotally through generations. With the demand from people often with no cultural links to the community for a holiday home and the escalating house prices in these villages the indigenous population are forced out and the oral history is lost. Even if some of these people eventually become ‘firsts homers’ does this make a Cornish community or just a fantasy of living in Kernow ?
How often are plans to build affordable housing for those with a local connection to these villages blocked on the grounds of damaging the environment or the wrong sort of housing or it just becomes simply unaffordable?
Simon Jenkins’ article may be trying to bridge the gap between second homeowners and locals but is in reality just trying to square the circle. Owning a second home anywhere is morally wrong .Just like the campaigns in the past to shame people against littering or making people pick up the mess your dog leaves on the pavement, there should be a public campaign to show that it is antisocial to own a second home.
If people are that desperate to buy a second home instead of some half baked charter and slapping a Kernow sticker on the bumper of their new 4×4 and thinking that makes them local maybe they should have to pass a Cornish test.
If they first had to learn some Kernewek and have an understanding of Cornish identity ,history and culture and realise that we are not a county of England would that not show real commitment?
Think it sounds far-fetched ? Why should it not happen, the Cornish are a national minority and having an understanding of the indigenous culture you wish to live would show real commitment and might even put some of them off.
KernowCalling 