How second home owners can help locals stay in the village they love

The lack of housing for locals in a picturesque seaside village like St Mawes is not a new story. However, a groundbreaking project launched by residents to help stop the hollowing out of their beloved community is.

SMART (St Mawes Affordable Regeneration Team) aims to build 17 affordable homes – and, yes, they really are affordable – for local families in a place where most properties sell for at least £1 million.

Take a quick look online and it’s clear what young people who have grown up on the Roseland Peninsula are up against.

At the time of writing there were 45 homes for sale in St Mawes, 23 of which were marketed between £1m and a whopping £8.5m. There are only three priced under £400,000 and they include a single-storey barn on the outskirts of the village and a two-bed apartment.

There is just one ‘family’ three-bedroom house on the market, which is going for £325,000 – even that’s a struggle for many stepping on the first rung of the property ladder.

SMART has been allowed to develop a former school field at the top of the village in a bid to keep young people in St Mawes and safeguard essential services like the primary school, post office and village life itself for generations to come.

Created by the community for the community, SMART is led by 12 individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, all volunteering their expertise free of charge.

Each member has a strong connection to the village – whether through long-term residence, second home ownership or professional ties – and shares a deep commitment to the wellbeing of the community.

With strong backing from St Just in Roseland Parish Council (which has just pledged £100,000 to the project), Cornwall Council, local representatives and the school, the plan is to deliver the 17 affordable homes (a mix of discount market sale and rental) primarily for local families and protected for future generations.

There are around 40 families registered on the Homechoice housing register as in need of affordable housing in the parish, with only 16 affordable homes having been built in the past 16 years.

With planning approval targeted for this year and total costs estimated at £3.5 million, funding will come from a combination of public support and community investment, which SMART hopes will include second home owners, who they aren’t vilifying and stress are important members of the community.

One of the seeds of the idea was formed when Crawford Rogers’ granddaughter, who was 15 at the time, said she wanted to go to university but come back to St Mawes.

“She said ‘where am I going to live?’ and that triggered it.” Mr Rogers met another villager, Alan Macklin, at a parish council meeting when they both asked what was being done to secure the future of the village for the next generation. That led to the formation of SMART.

I met Mr Rogers in the field they plan to build on alongside fellow SMART members Chris De Glanville and Chris Rose, who is also director of Roseland Planning Ltd.

The latter told me: “My background is in affordable housing and that’s how I got involved. I suggested using a registered provider, but these guys were fiercely independent of that, as the concern is that even traditional affordable housing with shared ownership just wouldn’t be affordable in St Mawes.

“This is innovative and a bit different – market sales at more or less build cost and then social rent. They really want it to be truly affordable. This is community driven and one of the key drivers is affordability which puts benefits back into the village like supporting the school.

“It is a different way of doing it – it’s not developer-led or profit-orientated.”

Mr De Glanville added: “We’ve valued a three-bedroomed house in St Mawes at around £380,000, but we’re hoping to build one and sell it for around £220,000. That’s what this is all about really – being able to provide homes at prices which people can afford as opposed to a first home at £380,000.

“With a registered provider, we’d fear losing control of it. This way, as a properly constituted registered charity which will run this in perpetuity, we will be able to ensure its localness.”

They say they will stick to Cornwall Council’s proviso for housing for local people. “That clearly states that a local person is first in line,” said Mr De Glanville. “It should be stated fairly clearly on behalf of the school that they’re very happy for us to have this field, but they’re very keen to be able to have more kids come and live in these houses so their numbers increase.”

Mr Rogers added: “The school is constantly being reviewed by the powers-that-be along with other organisations like the post office, the chemist … everything is under review. If we have no heartbeat, then we might as well raise the white flag and it will then become second home orientated.

“It’s important to say that the second home owners have had a bad press. It’s an involvement of economics that’s necessary. Thirty or 40 years ago this village was sustained by the income of fishing trawlers, miners, dock workers and ECLP (china clay).

“Virtually overnight they all disappeared and the only thing we’ve got really is the second homes construction and the knock-ons – the decorators and the gardeners, etc.”

He said that many villagers have made a living from second homes and holiday accommodation. “To give them bad press is not going to do us any favours at all. You have to do this in harmony and by doing what we’re doing, hopefully it bridges that divide.”

Mr De Glanville added: “The doubling of the council tax for second home owners has been one of the most negative things – it’s almost like saying ‘go home’.”

The SMART group is actually looking to second home owners to help the scheme.

Mr Rose explained: “We’ve come a long way, but the next stage is a fundraising effort, asking people in the village and the wider community to chip in – be that money, skills or time.”

The total cost of the project is approximately £3.5m for the 17 homes and infrastructure. There will be phased fundraising, with the first £750,000 phase covering the infrastructure and two semi detached houses.

Mr De Glanville said: “We’re very sure that if we do it that way then the first two can be sold very quickly, which will then generate funds to continue and give us the confidence to borrow because by then there will be people lined up with mortgages.”

Alongside St Just in Roseland Parish Council’s £100,000 commitment, various donations and charity loans means SMART currently has the promise of £350,000. “The rest of it is going to be quite an ask,” added Mr De Glanville. “Anyone who is prepared to come and help in terms of skills or cash to help us with the first phase would be very welcome.”

“Perhaps second home owners would want to give something back to the community,” Mr Rose suggested.

They say there has been “massive, overwhelming” support for the project locally. Following a public meeting, four people immediately approached the group saying they had their deposits in place and were ready to move in as soon as the houses were ready.

It’s abundantly clear from chatting to people in the village that the scheme has huge support.

Daisy Holroyd Smith, who works in a waterside shop, told me: “It’s a really good idea – it’s important that young people are able to buy a house like other generations. It’s not right that people are being priced out of their own environments.”

She knows a number of young people working in St Mawes pubs who have shown an interest in the SMART project to enable them to carry on living in the area where they grew up.

Martha Matthews and Jola Hall work in the Fudge & More shop. They both agrees it’s a brilliant plan for the village “as long as it’s for local people” and stressed the need for two- and three-bed homes for young families.

SMART are encouraging people to support the application on Cornwall Council’s planning portal to demonstrate the positive strength of feeling in the village and wider Roseland area for the proposal. See planning application PA26/03701 on the council’s website.

They’re also encouraging other communities across Cornwall who may be inspired to start a similar scheme to get in touch.