North Cornwall’s guest accommodation has changed significantly over the last 10 to 15 years, driven primarily by the growth of online platforms. This has led to a significant number of new entrants into the market, particularly owners of what would otherwise be residential premises offering short-term and holiday lets. Whilst the sharing economy brings many benefits to the tourism sector, the rise in short-term and holiday letting has also prompted a range of concerns. Many residents in North Cornwall struggle to access housing and the levels of second-home ownership and property used for holiday lets impact heavily on local people. Many other countries and cities have introduced measures in recent years to address some of these concerns and the government believes the time is now right to look at the situation in England. This sits alongside other housing measures we have delivered on second homes and buy to let such as Cornwall Council being able to double council tax, and the second homes stamp duty levy.
I’m very pleased that the UK government’s Tourism Recovery Plan is committed to consulting on the introduction of a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England. The Department is currently calling for evidence is to gather the information and data necessary to develop proportionate, evidence-based policy options for that consultation. Along with my Cornish MP colleagues I have been feeding back what our constituents have been reporting to us, and the Tourism Recovery Plan sets out how the government will support a swift recovery from the pandemic and help the tourism industry move toward a more accessible, innovative, resilient and sustainable model. To achieve this, we will need to ensure England maintains a safe and competitive guest accommodation offer. This call for evidence seeks views and data on the size and shape of the market, as well as the positive and negative impacts of short-term lets. This information will enable the government to develop proportionate, evidence-based policy options for future consultation. This call for evidence is open to everyone and will run for 12 weeks. The government then intends to consult on specific policy options later in 2022. The link is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/developing-a-tourist-accomm…;
It was very interesting to see the outcome of the court case concerning Davidstow. This is a problem that stretches back some time, and I have met with the community to discuss this issue. The creamery has changed ownership in that time, and I am pleased to see that Saputo, the new owners, have made several upgrades to the site to address the issues. It was devastating to see the damage to aquaculture in the Inney. I'll continue to meet with the Environment Agency, the owners of the site and local farmers going forward.
