Memoranda from Armand Toms (CRED 01)

 

Dear Minister,

As a local councillor I have felt for some time that my own community was suffering and during a debate at the District Council I highlighted the fact that local businesses and people were suffering with the slowdown in the economy mainly due to the lack of tourists coming to this area.  Nearly every day someone would tell me that they were struggling with payments of rents and  tourist related businesses were down as much as 25% or more.  Although on the outside small towns and villages in Cornwall may look idyllic and prosperous yet this all to often hides the fact that their economy is based on one industry (tourism) and by removing a small percentage of visitors or the money they spend it has a great impact.  I have spoken to many of the family tourists that have visited this year and they have stated openly that whilst in other years each day they would have been on say and boat trip and had fish and chips this year they have done only one or the other.  Whilst these people have still come there spending power is much reduced due to the raise in the mortgage rate and the high price of fuel, everyone in the country has felt these increases and Cornwall has felt this more than most because they have had those increases and in addition lost income from the visitors.  As you will know Cornwall is still below the national GDP even after Objective One funding and will hopefully meet that target by the end of the convergence funding period although this is not guaranteed.  At the moment the County is going through a time of governance change with a movement from 6 District Councils and a County Council to a Unitary Authority which in a time of financial instability is adding to the pressures.    These changes will try to bring in savings for the council of £17 million per year but to achieve this there will be up to 500 job losses in the county which relates to a large percentage of the of the counties current workforce.

 

As an area Cornwall suffers with poor infrastructure and transport links which restrict job opportunities for it's residents this means that wage rates are low in fact one of the lowest in the country, this coupled with some of the highest house prices and affordability ratios of up to15 times incomes you can see that there is no such thing as an affordable house at local wage rates.  Local people wishing to stay in the communities in which they were born find it a near impossibility and even those who become skilled have little or no chance of purchasing a house, all to often they move away to get a better life for their families, but this means that communities and families are broken up and create an unsustainable pressure of those towns and villages.  Take Polperro which was once a thriving fishing village with an all year round economy now the heart of the village has been taken out with areas of village with 60 or 70% second homes, thus making businesses unsustainable all year so many have closed (this list in Polperro is very long but I hope I give you a flavour of what is happening).  Affordable and social housing is the only way for many local people to stay in communities they were born or work in and whilst you can see deprivation in Cities as they are confined areas Cornwall's is hidden because it is 100 miles long with only 500k people living in it, a similar distance of from the edge of London to the edge of Birmingham. We as a County need support in the way you have proposed and the following facts from other organisations will show the dramatic increases in and the vulnerability of the housing market and the impact of it's residents.  The latest information from a national paper shows that whilst house repossessions nationally have risen 17%  in Devon and Cornwall they have risen 41% indicating that the credit crunch is hitting the south west greater than most.  The CAB recently released the following information to show what effects the credit crunch is having in Cornwall and it shows that the problems are growing fast if not out of control.

 

 

 

The Credit Crunch In Cornwall 

Figures from CAB Cornwall

 

Housing

Quarter 1st Oct- 31st Dec Quarter 1st Jan-31st March

Actual Homeless 51 88 72% increase

Threatened Homeless 97 161 66% increase

Access to/ Provision of Accom 43 72 67% increase

Housing Assoc Properties 26 59 127% increase

Private Sector Rented Prop 266 452 70% increase

LA Homelessness Services 22 53 141% increase

Debts

Mortgage and

Secured loan arrears 133 223 67% increase

Fuel Debts 100 186 86% increase

Rent Arrears Local Auth 57 87 52% increase

Rent Arrears Housing Assoc 53 64 21% increase

Rent Arrears Private Landlords 50 75 50% increase

 

In addition to the above it should be noted that the insolvency rate for the district is the second worst in the south west and twelfth worst in the country.

Minister I hope you find time to read this submission and that the committee will help the people of Cornwall to stay in their homes, have access to affordable housing and have the chance of decent social housing. Thank you for your attention.

October 2008