Last week Cherilyn Mackrory MP (Truro & Falmouth), was accompanied by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, Rt Hon. Michael Gove MP, in St Agnes to speak to the local community about short-term lets, and to let them know what the Government are doing to tackle the problem head on. Also present were Cllr Linda Taylor, and Cllr Connor Donnithorne.
Cherilyn Mackrory MP, said: “One of the biggest issues that I am often contacted about is the lack of affordable housing for local people in Truro & Falmouth.”
“This was really brought home to me in one of my early constituency advice surgeries in St Agnes. Where I had a number of families through the doors, asking for help with either eviction or rent increases making it unaffordable for them to stay in the community they grew up in.”
“Pretty much all those properties were going to be flipped into Airbnb’s. Since then, as a cohort of Cornish Conservative MPs, we have been lobbying the Government to make changes in this area to ensure that we do not let this continue to happen.”
“I welcome the proposals made by the Secretary of State and am grateful to the Government for listening to our concerns here in Cornwall. Changing the planning process will allow communities to get to grips with short-term holiday lets and keep houses available and affordable for local families to use as homes.”
Under the reforms announced today, local councils will be given greater powers to control short-term lets by making them subject to the planning process. This will support local people in areas where high numbers of short-term lets are preventing them from finding housing they can afford to buy or to rent.
These changes are part of a long-term plan to prevent a ‘hollowing out’ of communities, address anti-social behaviour and ensure local people can continue to live in the place they call home.
Meanwhile, a new mandatory national register will give local authorities the information they need about short-term lets in their area. This will help councils understand the extent of short-term lets in their area, the effects on their communities, and underpin compliance with key health and safety regulations.
Short-term lets are now a significant part of the UK’s visitor economy and can provide increased choice and flexibility for tourists and business travellers. To recognise this, homeowners will still be able to let out their own main or sole home for up to 90 nights throughout a year without planning permission and Government is considering how to apply the register so it does not apply disproportionate regulation for example on property owners that let out their home infrequently.