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| Can you Afford to Live in Cornwall? |
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Page 2 of 6 The problem of affordable housing, though, is deemed serious enough for something to be finally done about it. Mario Fonk, a councillor for Penwith District Council, concurs with this statement. “Yes, there is indeed a housing crisis in Cornwall. It’s a subject which is very close to my heart as there are over 16,000 people on the waiting list across Cornwall.” He adds: “The lack of new affordable homes is largely due to the cuts in Housing Corporation funding. Cornwall in particular has been badly let down by both the Conservative and Labour Governments. But it’s not just in Cornwall - this is a national issue. Wages just can’t keep up with house prices.” A large part of the solution comes down to affordable housing and ensuring that those on the list are as local as the ‘local’ criteria allows, which means a minimum of five years connection with the parish. Yet what does ‘affordable’ mean? Typically, it covers a wide range of tenures with the common features being that the mortgage or rental outgoings of the house must fall within the average income range of couples or individuals working locally. There are other schemes in operation to give people a chance to get on the property ladder such as shared ownership schemes, which offer to sell 40-50 per cent of the value of a home to qualifying purchasers, i.e. local people. They then also have the opportunity to staircase up to a majority or full ownership as their income increases. On the plus side, more and more affordable homes are being built across Cornwall, though nowhere near the amount to solve this crisis. |
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