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A referendum with the potential to block second homes in Mevagissey has been supported by a landslide 90% of voters.

The tourist hotspot near St Austell has seen a boom in the number of houses being purchased as holiday homes over recent years in what one local councillor described as an "onslaught of second-home owners”.

Residents involved in creating the Mevagissey Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) were fighting for a change to block second home buyers from purchasing properties, in an effort to "restore the balance to the playing field for local people".

It follows a rule brought in at St Ives in 2016, which was supported by more than 80% of voters, to ban new-builds being sold as second homes.

The Mevagissey plan, was first submitted to Cornwall Council and then returned to residents for a referendum to see if it could be adopted as policy, also proposed to ban any further second homes from being built.

Cornwall Councillor for Mevagissey James Mustoe has revealed that the vote had a 32.74% turnout, with 89.58% (516 people) voting in favour.

Just 60 people (10.41%) voted against the plan.

(Image: Sally Adams)

Cllr Mustoe said: "I was delighted to see the Mevagissey Neighbourhood Development Plan pass into legislation following the referendum result.

"The landslide result, with 90% of those who voted, voting for it, is a strong endorsement from our community that they want this strong and positive local planning legislation to protect the villages of Mevagissey and Portmellon now and for future generations.

"My thanks to all the volunteers, both members of the public and parish council who have worked so hard to bring this forward.

"On a personal note, I now look forward to having this publicly endorsed legislation by my side to fight for the types of development we do and do not want to see in the parish from now on."

MP for St Austell and Newquay, Steve Double said: "Congratulations to all involved in the outcome of the Mevagissey Neighbourhood Development Plan. The percentage voting in favour shows there is strong support for this plan in the parish and I would like to thank all involved for their hard work over the years in putting this document together.

"Local plans are a great way for communities to have a say in the development that takes place where they live, both now and in the future. I would encourage any parishes that are interested to speak to Cornwall Council on how to proceed."

The plan states: "The permanent population of Mevagissey has fallen slightly over the last 200 years but, since 1930, the buildings in the village have more than doubled.

"26% of the homes in Mevagissey are holiday homes and another 12% are listed buildings. These statistics are mutually dependent, since heritage features are popular with holiday home owners.

"As a consequence, local house prices are beyond the reach of many local people and the parish council has built a number of affordable homes over the last decade to tackle this problem."

It said there was a concern that "uncontrolled or unsympathetic development" could compromise the assets of the parish, its character, coast and countryside.

(Image: Tom Last)

Cllr Mustoe previously said that first time buyers "have been priced out of the communities where they grow up" due to earning a salary about 20 times less than the average house price.

He added: "The referendum for the Mevagissey Neighbourhood Development Plan that takes place on April 26 is the culmination of four years of hard work by a committed team of volunteers, parish council and local residents.

"If passed it will give the local community a say in how planning applications are decided in the Mevagissey parish, where we do and don't want development, the limit on second homes for new builds and a myriad of other policies.

"It has already been very helpful to me in my role as local councillor as the emerging plan is already given weight in planning and has helped me fight Mevagissey's corner in overturning inappropriate decisions that would otherwise have been approved.

"I encourage everyone to vote for the Neighbourhood Development Plan on April 26 and look forward to it being formally adopted for future use - another step to secure the future prosperity of our parish."

He also said said: "In Cornwall we sadly are suffering from the erosion of our coastal and rural communities by what can be seen as an unstoppable onslaught of second-home owners.

"It is good that the Government has given communities the opportunity to have their say in where and how future development takes place in the places where they live.

"Cornwall had become, to many, ‘a developers' paradise’. The welcome but long-delayed implementation of the Cornwall [Local] Plan has finally seen us begin to fight back and win cases with the Planning Inspectorate, where previously far too often they were failing.

He added: "In common with St Ives and other plans that are following similar lines, the Mevagissey Neighbourhood Plan seeks to preserve the living and vibrant nature of our community by restricting new builds to permanent occupiers only.

"This is not about penalising second home owners, who contribute a great deal to our economy, but about restoring the balance to the playing field for local people. At least a quarter of the houses in Mevagissey are second homes.

"The average house price is £299,587, which is about 20 times the typical local salary of £15,458. Many youngsters, myself included, who have been priced out of the communities where we grow up.

"Stepping away from economics, this is about safeguarding and preserving our community and something I welcome. I am glad that we are taking positive and proactive steps to redress the balance."

In April residents of Mevagissey expressed their disappointment over a Cornwall Council admin error which stalled the vote, seeing it pushed back.

Cllr Mustoe expressed his disappointment over the postponement.

In a letter to Kate Kenally, chief operating officer of Cornwall Council, he said: "Your organisation's bungling ineptitude is sorely testing my resolve."

(Image: Tom Last)

His letter stated: "I am writing to express my extreme concern and disappointment about the above and the way in which Cornwall Council has acted, following a conversation I had with Phil Mason, head of planning at Cornwall Council, on April 13."

He explains that he has learned that the referendum on Mevagissey's NDP has been cancelled.

It continues: "This is because Cornwall Council's electoral services have apparently just realised that they miscalculated the minimum notice period required for holding it on April 26, and issued the statutory notices too late.

"This means that if it was held on April 26 it would be open to legal challenge. The referendum has now been postponed, with a new date unconfirmed but apparently not until June 14.

"I accept, following legal advice, the need for the postponement of the referendum.

"However I am very, very concerned about how Cornwall Council's electoral services have handled this matter. Words cannot describe the disappointment and frustration felt by myself and the volunteers from the NDP steering group who have devoted hours of our time in pulling this vital document together since 2014, only to have this tardy administration by Cornwall Council put a spanner in the works."

(Image: Tom Last)

Cllr Mustoe asked the council to confirm a number of points, firstly that the current weight given to the NDP would not be compromised because of the delay.

He also asked for confirmation over how the mistake occurred, compensation for money spent publicising the original referendum date and the cost of printing new poll cards.

The letter added: "This whole episode reflects appallingly on Cornwall Council as an organisation.

"As I told Phil when I spoke with him on the 13th, I was asked recently by my community network manager why Cornwall Council as an organisation scored so poorly on the customer satisfaction survey in Mevagissey.

"I told him that mistakes like this are why. Given the constant mistakes, the culture of complacency and the wilful refusal to admit when mistakes are made by officers, Cornwall Council is not an organisation that is serving the people of my division well.

"I got into politics to serve my community and make it a better place, and your organisation's bungling ineptitude is sorely testing my resolve."

A Cornwall Council spokesman later confirmed that a letter of apology had been sent to all residents and that the chief executive would be replying to the letter from Cllr Mustoe.

Previously, a spokesman for Cornwall Council said: "Unfortunately, Cornwall Council has had to postpone the referendum on the Mevagissey Neighbourhood Development Plan which will now take place on June 14, 2018.

(Image: Tom Last)

"Residents will receive a new poll card and we will be writing to them to apologise and explain.

"Mevagissey Parish Council agreed to develop a neighbourhood plan for the area and that plan was due to be voted on by the local community at a referendum on April 26.

"We have had to postpone the referendum until June 14, 2018, because of an administrative error in the procedures for publishing the documents that give official notification that a referendum is taking place.

"The decision to postpone the referendum is in no way a reflection of the content of the Neighbourhood Development Plan.

"We apologise for the error and regret the delay and any inconvenience that this has caused."

Cornwall Council director of planning and sustainable development, Phil Mason, said: "I apologise to the residents of the parish of Mevagissey for this administrative mistake which has led to a delay in holding the referendum for their Neighbourhood Development Plan.

"The development of the plan has been led by local people, who have spent a significant amount of time and effort preparing it to give their community a say in what happens locally.

"That’s why it is critical that the referendum is held properly to make sure that the Mevagissey Neighbourhood Development Plan is processed correctly and that there are no technical issues that could undermine the status of the plan."