Coastal Communities

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

Our coastal communities are likely to have higher deprivation living alongside great wealth. They are often creative hubs. Cornwall attracts many artists and musicians, and Falmouth has the world-class Falmouth University, which grew out of a 100-year-old art school. People come from all across the country and the world to visit our beaches and coastline. However, I am worried about the shore management plan, and managed alignment poses a risk to our beach cafés, car parks and economy in Cornwall.

The port of Falmouth is still very significant: we maintain and repair ships, including military ships, we host cruise ships with new green energy onshore plug-ins, and we have plans to regenerate the port to service floating offshore wind and to reinstate the freight railway. However, wages are lower than the national average, many jobs are seasonal and insecure, and hospitality businesses struggle with low margins. The permanently lower business rates that will be introduced in April next year after the business rates discount expires will help a great deal, as long as the rate is permanently lower than the current rate, rather than the full rate from pre-covid. Skills shortages are significant, particularly in hospitality, but also in other skilled professions, and house prices are 13 times wages.

There are 24,500 properties for short-term let in Cornwall, up 30% on 2019, while 27,000 households are on the social housing waiting list. Second homes account for nearly 5% of our housing stock. I welcome the Renters’ Rights Bill, but we also need a toolbox of measures to tackle second homes and short-term lets, including a registration or licensing scheme. Good holiday companies are actually calling for safety inspection measures, and for the closure of the business rates council tax loophole.

In addition, Cornwall has faced underfunding in health, social care and education for years. I, too, support the call for a broader Government strategy on coastal communities, because every policy affects us in potentially different ways from in urban areas.