Newspaper column 9 August 2023 - A visit from the Roads Minister

As we move into August, last week it was great to welcome Roads Minister Richard Holden to Mid-Cornwall to update him in some of the excellent work being done to improve our transport infrastructure and improve our connectivity.

First up the Minister went from Cornwall Airport Newquay to Newquay Bus Station, along with local councillors and Connor Donnithorne, the lead councillor at Cornwall Council responsible for Transport. This journey was carried out on the Atlantic Coaster, an open top double decker that travels between Newquay and Padstow. which was always an optimistic plan given the changeable weather we have been having so far this summer! Apart from being able to see some of our lovely Cornish sights and scenery, the purpose of this part of the Minister’s visit was to highlight the continued success we are having in Cornwall with the bus fare cap, as well as to get an update on some of the other amazing initiatives going on in Cornwall, such as the successful partnership with Operators and the Council to provide free bus passes for Care Leavers.

In June, the Government announced a further extension to the national bus fare cap of £2 for a single fare bus journey until the end of October 2023, and then £2.50 until November 2024.

The extension of this national initiative complements the bus fares pilot scheme already in place here in Cornwall since April 2022, with bus passengers already saving hundreds of thousands of pounds. Between April and December 2022 over two million discounted tickets were sold through the bus fares pilot.

It was good to highlight to the Minister this success as well as the need to ensure as many people as possible know about the fare caps and are able to access the buses.

The Minister also had the chance to have a look around Newquay Bus Station and see how, under the Transport for Cornwall brand, bus users can have access to integrated information such as timetables, roadside information, networks guides and maps.

Finally, he also saw how Cornwall invests in active travel initiatives like Cornwall’s e-bike share scheme, Beryl bikes which are available at locations, including in the towns of St Austell and Newquay, all across Cornwall. The bay at Newquay Railway Station ranks in Beryl’s top ten most popular.

Following the visit to Newquay Bus Station, the Minister visited the construction site of the St Austell - A30 link road at Roche.

The new link road is receiving £78.5million of Government funding– the biggest single investment by any government in mid-Cornwall.

The 3.9 mile route will link the A391 at Carluddon with Victoria and provide an alternative route for traffic that currently goes through the villages of Bugle and Roche.

The scheme will generate almost £112million in wider economic benefits, reduce journey times and include a new shared pedestrian and cycle facility running alongside the whole length of the new road.

Local businesses and residents have wished for a better connection to the A30 for many years. Previous schemes had been cancelled and there had been little prospect of this road ever being built. When I began my first election campaign in 2014 I pledged to make delivering this road my top priority. 

It has been great to see the work on this vital road take place over the past year. This scheme will not only benefit St Austell and the surrounding area, relieving pressure on Roche, Bugle and Stenalees, but also provide huge economic benefits and a more direct route to the A30 and Cornwall Airport Newquay.

It is only under this Conservative Government, with me as your MP, that it has been delivered. It was great to update the Minister on the work done and I will continue to work with colleagues in Cornwall and in Westminster to ensure this important part of our infrastructure for Mid-Cornwall is completed as soon as possible.

If I can be of assistance or help on any matter, please get in touch with my office on 01726 829379 or email office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 2 August 2023 - Second homes roundtable

With the summer holidays and tourism season here in Cornwall now very much underway, I thought it timely that I was invited to attend a roundtable with the UK Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA) along with a number of providers of holiday let accommodation, last week. 

This event was attended by many key figures who play an important part in our tourism industry, including Malcolm Bell from Visit Cornwall, Leader of Cornwall Council, Linda Taylor, as well as the CEO of UK Short Term Accommodation Association, Andy Fenner and a number of my fellow Cornish MPs. 

It was good to have an open and honest discussion about the tourism industry in the county, including the benefits and concerns about short-term holiday lets in Cornwall, and more importantly, how they should be regulated while also supporting tourism and the local economy.

As you will know, I have always been a strong supporter of the tourism industry, serving as Chair of the influential Hospitality and Tourism All Party Parliamentary Group for a number of years, and have seen its importance to the Cornish economy. 

Cornwall attracts millions of visitors every year, who spend billions of pounds and I am sure local hospitality and tourism businesses will be hoping for another great summer season this year. 

However, while Cornwall’s tourism industry has its many positives, I understand there is a flip side to this and know many residents have their concerns about its impact, and I understand why. I see its impact as I am regularly contacted by local people who have been priced out of homes, both to rent or to buy, and are unable to continue to work or live in the place they call home due to the number of short-term lets. 

This is an issue I have been working to address for a number of years, both during my time as MP for St Austell and Newquay and also when I was a Cornwall Councillor. The availability and affordability of housing has been an issue in Cornwall for a long time, but there is no denying that it has grown significantly worse over the last few years due to, in part, the huge increase in demand for people to both holiday in Cornwall and those wanting to move to live here. 

Housing continues to remain one of the biggest problems that people raise with me and that is why I am pleased the government has brought forward a number of proposed changes in its Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which aim to tackle the oversaturation of Airbnbs and other short-term lets on our local communities. 

As an MP who represents a constituency that has one of highest number of these properties, I have been urging the government to do more to regulate the short-term let market. We need to give communities the power to redress the balance between holiday lets and homes for local people to live in where it is an issue.

I have been working with Ministers to ensure important measures to manage the number of short-term lets in Cornwall would be included in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill in order to protect our communities and support the tourism industry and ensure they can both work together, which is key. 

It is reassuring to see the Government listening to the concerns I have raised on behalf of constituents and planning to introduce a requirement for change of use planning permissions for short-term lets.

The planning changes would see a planning use class created for short-term holiday lets not used as a sole or main home. I believe it is reasonable that if a property is built to be someone’s home and the owner wants to then change it to a holiday let, which is effectively a business use, that planning permission should be required because it is a fundamental change in the use of that property.

Creating a separate planning use category for short-term holiday lets will allow local authorities such as Cornwall Council to become decision-makers on how many of these types of business are in local communities, as well as giving town and parish councils, and the wider public a say in these matters through the planning process.

A new registration scheme for short-term lets is also being introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.  This will ensure we know how many holiday let properties there are in a given area as well as enabling local councils to then ensure these properties have the required insurance and safety measures in place.

These new rules will ensure communities have greater control over short-term holiday lets and while we must recognise that there is no quick or easy fix for the housing situation in Cornwall, this is a significant step towards managing the impact of short-term lets on our local housing market. 

However, I do think we need to make it clear that both of these proposed measures are focussed on short-term lets, and therefore the planning changes and the register will not impact on hotels, hostels or B&Bs, which are already covers by current regulations.

The rules are also in addition to the Government measures to give local communities greater ability to manage the impact that second homes can have in some locations, including closing tax loopholes and permitting councils to apply higher council tax on second homes.

Cornwall Council will have the powers to be able to double council tax on unused second homes to boost funding for local services.

These issues are concerns I have raised many times with the Prime Minister and other senior members of government. I am pleased the government has listened to concerns raised by myself and other Cornish MPs and look forward to working with ministers to ensure these planned measures are implemented as soon as possible.

If I can be of assistance on this matter, or any other, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – call: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk