Cornwall boasts a number of gorgeous beaches and enchanting landscapes and Padstow is one of its many towns that are incredibly popular with visitors.
However, all that attention is causing chaos for the locals as tourists have not only increased the demand for accommodation, but they’ve also started purchasing second homes resulting in a massive housing crisis.
The average property in the town is nearly £700,000, and for a detached home, it is nearly a staggering £1million.
Feeling extremely troubled by the situation, residents took matters into their own hands a few years ago and posted letters to second-home owners.
One letter claimed to be from the “people of Padstow” and said visitors were “overburdening the system”.
It reads: “Please do the morally responsible thing and return home – you are not welcome here at this time,” reports MyLondon.
The shocking prices have led to the Cornish town becoming more expensive than London, where, according to Rightmove, the average sale price is £550,745.
One local said: “The old fisherman’s cottages in Padstow have been renovated for holiday homes, where they used to cost about £25,000, they’re not £500,000.”
They continued to explain that builders are constructing “as big a unit as possible” to make as much as possible, and as a result, the town ends up with huge homes with five or six bedrooms.
The changes and lack of affordable housing have caused uncertainty for residents who worry that Padstow’s next generation will be forced to leave the town and find somewhere cheaper to live.
As well as the increased prices, data collected in recent years reveals that around two-thirds of the town is made up of holiday homes, leading to the council proposing a ban on second homes.
Padstow Parish Council clerk Kathy Pemberton believes that the scenery and connection to the area could be reasons why more and more people are attracted to the area.
“[The reasons for moving to the area] are a very personal thing. I think people move here because they love the outdoors and a lot of people do have family connections,” she said.
