Cherilyn Mackrory MP for Truro and Falmouth yesterday attended a round table meeting hosted the Short-Term Accommodation Association, industry stakeholders and Malcolm Bell from Visit Cornwall, to discuss the current imbalance of short-term holiday lets in Cornwall.
Taking place at the Falmouth Hotel, this meeting was attended by local Conservative MPs and County Councillors, including Council Leader, Cllr Linda Taylor, who used the opportunity to express their concerns about the current state of short-term holiday lets across Cornwall. Since Covid, we have seen a sharp rise in properties 'flipping' from long term let to short term holiday lets across Cornwall and Cornish Conservative MPs have been pushing the issue in Parliament. Government is committed to tackling and solving the issue, without damaging our thriving tourist sector.
Among the topics discussed were changes to local planning laws, as well as the registration of short-term holiday lets which will enable better regulation of their use, prioritising the needs of local communities first.
Cherilyn said:
“This was a really great opportunity to hear views directly from the Short-Term Accommodation Association and Visit Cornwall and get stuck in on what we need to do to resolve the problems caused by short-term holiday lets for so many here in our community.
“As a team, Cornish Conservative MPs and councillors have worked hard with the Government to tackle the crisis of short-term holiday lets. It is essential that we find a solution to the crisis but one which is not at the expense of the tourism industry. So many here in Cornwall rely on leisure and tourism for work every summer and they cannot be forgotten during this conversation.
"However, many communities are reluctant to support housing developments because there is currently nothing to stop properties being bought by investors and used as short-term holiday lets, rather than family homes. Using the planning process, we hope that local communities can finally make a choice in how they wish to resolve this, and we are bringing people together to identify how we can make this work for all of us to be a real Cornish success.”