Newquay – lessons learned?

So what can we learn from the growth of Newquay?  To recap, Newquay has seen a dramatic growth in housing and population. It is spreading out over adjacent farmland, eating up a valuable resource.  A more recent spate of building has been the development of Nansledan, This is creating a large suburb, which it is intended will add 4,000 people to the towns population, an increase of around 14%.   Contrary to the Nansledan message it is not a Cornish community but a development encouraging people to move to Cornwall.  Its just about unsustainable population growth not meeting local need.

 

Another area of housing growth has been to the southeast around Trevemper.  Newquay has also seen a dramatic growth in dwellings used for holiday homes or lets. 14.6 % of all dwelling are unoccupied on a permanent basis.

 

So what lessons should be learned?

First, that housing development is not to meet local housing need, but as is common elsewhere, it is for the benefit of the developer who seeks to cater to a ‘market’ which is the consequence of various actors in the development sector acting to promote certain lifestyles and demands.

 

Second, it undermines the Governments line that there is a lack of building going on and that planning holds up development. Apart from the free market lobby groups who it appears have infiltrated government thinking and policy, no one regards that assertion as tenable or credible.

 

Thirdly, despite the frenetic building bonanza, there are still people in housing need in Newquay.  As is known from the evidence, it’s not a lack of supply, which stops people from being housed but a flawed system of housing provision.

 

Actions

Various policy options exist.  These include:

Ditching the obsession with housing and population growth;

Changing planning rules so that housing is for local need not for other uses;

Reducing the number of second homes and holiday lets.

 

With regard to Newquay the role of tourism should be re-assessed with a focus on reducing its impact.

 

Sources

Newquay and Cornwall face a severe housing crisis characterized by a critical shortage of affordable and social housing, high housing costs, and a significant increase in homelessness and temporary accommodation. Problems include the high cost of renting and buying, a lack of suitable housing for low-income residents, and an increase in second homes and short-term holiday lets like Airbnbs. The situation is exacerbated by a rise in people with complex needs, underfunded crisis services, and the sheer number of people on housing waitlists. In response, Cornwall Council is implementing strategies like providing "SoloHaus micro-homes" for single people in need and purchasing properties for temporary family accommodation. [Google analysis].