Housing problems in Carrick highlighted at Brighton

Back from the Liberal Democrat conference at Brighton - exhausted but really enjoyable. Everyone was in good heart and Ming's speech yesterday came over really well.

I was pleased to be called in the Poverty debate. I was able to highlight the fact that Carrick is the least affordable place in the country for housing. According to the Halifax building society it takes 16 times average incomes in Carrick to buy a house. In the rest of the country the average is 8 times average income. So we have double the problem here in our own district!

Most people just don't recognise the significant problems we have in Cornwall. They think of us as pretty cottages with roses trailing over them. Rural poverty is a real issue and largely unrecognised.

Delegates were shocked when I said that many fishermen now have to commute to their boats in the morning. It sounds odd doesn't it but it is a fact of life down here.

Truro Police station

Yesterday I went to visit Inspector Mark Richards at Truro Police Station. It was really encouraging to see that there had been an overall decrease in the number of all crimes in his patch.

The biggest problem is that of anti social behaviour usually fuelled by alcohol. This seems to be a major problem throughout the UK. Mark Richards told me that they had put more community police officers out in teams across the his patch to counter these issues. It's obviously a bit of an uphill battle.

I want to tell older people that they can certainly sleep safe in their beds in Cornwall. Domestic burglaries are very very low. The reality is that no-one wants to buy old TV's or electrical equipment. But best keep your credit cards safe!

Carrick housing problem highlighted

The Campaign for Affordable Homes Cornwall (CAHC) are calling on Carrick District Council to pull out all the stops to deliver more affordable homes in the district after the Halifax revealed that Carrick is the least affordable rural area in the country.

With over 2500 people on the waiting list for homes in the district and far too few vacancies arising in social housing each year to house even those in priority need, CAHC are seeking reassurance from the council that every new development in Carrick will feature the percentage of affordable units as specified by the council, at the very least.

Kate Tregunna CAHC:

“We want Carrick to promise that they will make it crystal clear to all developers that building new affordable homes is not a requirement they can escape from. It’s time that the council put us first. We are in crisis, we desperately need more affordable homes and it’s time Carrick acted this way”.

Penryn branch

Pictured here from left to right: Terrye Teverson, Cait Hutchings (Penryn County Councillor) and Bev Hulme (deputy mayor Penryn).

We are working together to get an active team of people working for Penryn. If you are interested in helping contact me on terrye@teverson.net. You can come along to an informal meeting with refreshments with us at Miss Peabods Kitchen Cafe, Jubilee Wharf at 7pm on Friday 28 September.

Combined University of Cornwall

Last Friday I visited Tremough Campus. I still remember the old Tremough convent school for girls.

The Combined University of course, covers a variety of sites, including University College Falmouth and Truro College in our constituency of Truro and Falmouth.

The new European Convergence funds will be looking to upskill the workforce in Cornwall. I believe this is really important. Many people in the workplace have not had the opportunity of further education. The task is to be able to provide working people with easy access to upskilling via work-based learning without major disruption to their day to day work. I will be supporting this intiative. I also like the bite-sized courses idea of very short, university level programmes to allow people to try out higher education without committing to a long course. It means that workers get the change to gain specific knowledge quickly.

Perranporth

I have found a great way to save money at the gym. Just deliver leaflets in Perranporth. You don't need step exercise and the views are stunning.

The hang-gliding looks fun too!

The author Winston Graham lived in Perranporth for many years and his famous Poldark novels, which were televised, starring Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees as Ross and Demelza, are based on the history of the area and its local families. "Hendrawna Sands" in the novels is Perranporth beach. This was one of the 'must watch' serials when it was shown - everyone loved Ross Poldark!

If anyone wishes to help out there please let me know.