How did this so called "Strategic Housing Plan" for Saclombe creep up on us unawares? Surely this major change that is being thrust upon us is significant enough that we should all have been informed via a leaflet drop or letters and then kept up to date with every step!?!
50 new homes for Salcombe is a significant addition, especially on top of the Ember Court development. Surely there aren't enough residents to take up this allocation of social housing? Especially at the prices they are likely to be.
Could we end up with people being allocated these homes from as far a field as Plymouth on joint ownership schemes? Will we see an influx of undesirable residents, immigrants or will these houses just end up as more second homes as no-one else can afford them??
With mortgages so scarce how will anyone from Salcombe be able to get a large enough mortgage to be able to consider buying one of these houses. If we are back to mortgage applications being granted a 3 x salary then how can anyone afford a house over £80k? And you can guarantee they won't be that cheap...
Presumably Beadon Farm will be bulldozed, as according to the map one of the proposed sites covers the land occupied by the Farmhouse; building on that land and the surrounding fields is an absolute disgrace. I watched that Farmhouse renovated from a scary old farmhouse, that we used to play in as kids, into a lovely family home. What next, the tarmacking of Beadon lane to ebnable access????
These developments could significantly change Saclombe as we know it and very likely for the worse.
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Thursday 9 July 2009
Secrecy of Salcombe Strategic Housing Plan
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18 comments:
I find it hard to object to this if you didn't object to East Portlemouth. Personally I think they are trying to deal with the symptom rather than the cause. The cause is the lack of well paid jobs in Salcombe and the surrounding area ... the demise of the Marine doesn't help, but also (for those with long memories) not encouraging marine businesses that make things such as Bungy Taylor when he was at Whitestrand. A couple of other points ... There is still a load if unused land in front of Ember Court, what is happening there? Does being born in an area give you the right to live there (Hamostead ? Chelsea?)How do you find out more about the proposed development?
People have the right to live somewhere, especially the local population of Salcombe, as without them the town we fell in love with will change for the worst forever.
But... As the blog states, who is going to afford them unless they are either massivley subsidised or made out and out social housing units, the major problem you have with the latter as experienced up and down the country is councils will move the problem families in from other areas creating further unrest.
As a "second home" owner but one who has been coming to Salcombe for 40+ years because of my families love of the town, people and environment I would hate to see it change due to another failed social housing experiment forced on local people by a discredited Labour Goverment pulling the strings of SHDC.
Well thanks to the council we have 'the ghetto' at the top of Salcombe being the first view that tourists get coming on holiday instead of the beautiful view up through the estuary that we once had. Now based upon the available sites map on the Salcombe Town Council web site we are going to start to look like a huge council estate as no doubt the council and developers will try and cram as many cheap soulless houses onto the land as possible. When it comes to the councils there really is only one winner and that unfortunately is the council!!!!
These developments are going to be for financial gain only... shrouded under the cloak of affordable housing.
There are not enough jobs in Salcombe and the surrounding areas to justify so many houses anyway especially for the likes who just claim benefits and dont contribute anything to society!
Salcombe is dying bit by bit as greed takes over.....infact from what I understand the person who bought the land (outbid the council at auction)at the top of Salcombe bought it supposedly so his wife can put her horses on it, and then we have a massive council estate..........Highly suspicious, greedy and disappointing
It is dubious how if you try and put a handrail up around a balcony the council fights for it to be obtrusive spindles instead of an unobtrusive clear glass screen and then they come up with a ludicrous idea of a massive council estate.......Wake up council and see why Plymouth is such a low class dive!!!!!!!
In addition to the above comment I have attached the pdf ( http://www.salcombetowncouncil.gov.uk/Core/SalcombeTC/UserFiles/Files/SalcombeInitialSites.pdf ) so everybody else can see how Salcombe is due to change if the council have their way.
The public need to fight for what is rightfully theirs and not let the developers and council get their way in decreasing our property values
What we really need is more holiday homes, to be converted from the few remaining big houses, surrounded by chrome and glass balcony screens. These can then be left empty all year and this then agravates everyone.... especially the real locals. Watch out for the coming revolution!
Where is this Saclombe?
unfortuntatley some Salcombe residents don't seem to care what happens to their home town and aren't bright enough to understand the implications for one of the most amazing places in the UK. I can't for one minute think that many locals will welcome this unecessary over development. Second home owners are as vital to Salcombe as the locals are...they may not be everyone's taste but without them Salcombe would have died long ago.
I like the way Salcombe has kept up with the way architecture has!
The people whinging in the 30s 40s and 50s about modern architecture are the grumpy people complaining about modern architecture now. Wake up for god sake change does happen.
Glass houses and flat roofs are within the next generation of volumetric housing. Instead of going wider go higher into the eaves........it is a case of volumetric efficiency.
Oh and by the way I am a real local with a family that goes quite a way back and who respects the tourists value not just financially but intellectually as well.
SalcombeBornandBred I agree wholeheartedly with what you wrote
00Kevin I have a feeling that you need to appreciate the architectural minimalist/non interrupting nature of chrome and glass balcony screens beyond timber spindles.
As an ex Housing Manager (previous life) all Local Authorities are required by Government to have a Strategic Housing Plan, AND they MUST consult with the local population.... now we may be new to Salcombe - but I can't recall seeing or hearing of any consultation meetings?? Any Strategic Plan is supposed to complinet the existing area.....??
Sorry Mr Pedantic - should have read compliment....
Has anyone determined whether we do have a governmental requirement to provide any more housing than the new builds at Ember Close? I heard that there may be no such requirement?
What is the Princes Trust involvement in all this?
Also what is the status of the scrub land between Ember Close and the garage, there must be room for 5 dwellings there with minimum disruption?
If we do go for more housing, why should it be low cost ... the impact on the environment will be the same whatever the type of housing.
For additional low cost housing to work for locals it needs generic growth, i.e. say five new dwellings each year till local demand is met, otherwise bussing in outsiders who work (and shop) outside of Salcombe will do nothing for the local economy.
It did strike me that the area around and behind Main Road Garage would lend itself to a small light industrial estate, if landscaped properly it could look ok ... and would be far more beneficial to locals than houses for Plymothians.
There is no escaping that architecture is subjective, I have no problem with Ember Close, although it would look better if the Main Road side were landscaped. I hate the Stan Bolt house on Sandhills with a vengeance, but like the Bus Stop, others see this differently.
Salcombe's main industry is its visitors and that includes second home owners, and has been since the 19th Century. However what really depresses me is the second homes that are only used for a couple of weeks a year, and empty for the rest.
Have read all the individual comments here and I'm similar to the anonymous 2nd home person for 40+ years, we've been coming to Salcombe for holidays for nearly 20years. We aren't rich enough to have any 2nd home ourselves, we have camped in South Milton and Hope cove or rented holiday lets around Salcombe with our respected friends. But wherevever we are based,the hub and centre of the holiday is always fabulous Salcombe. The breathtaking ambience and scenery of the town is what draws us in year after year. I don't mind revealing we are from the East Midlands, so I can profess to be of a minor expert on witnessing how developments can ruin certain areas, and although I don't know much about the Salcombe TC one proposed, my bet is it will downgrade the town unfortunetly. Once a holiday destination starts to loose it good reputation, it is very hard to shake off. I'm signing any petition I see against this development when I'm in town on holiday from 7th August, we want to enjoy Salcombe as we've always known it !!
Look how Kingsbridge has turned out.....that is why we dont want or need affordable housing estates in Salcombe. If the people work in Salcombe which I severely doubt especially during the winter months as there arent enough jobs about then unfortunately they would need to commute to work as millions of people have to otherwise there are other places for them to live. Thats life!
Salcombe cannot be ruined with demands by the few!
We hardly have any affordable housing.......This is the reason why Salcombe is such a beautiful place.
TO LIVE IN SALCOMBE IS NOT A RIGHT ITS A PRIVILEGE AND TOO MANY PEOPLE EXPECT IT TO BE HANDED TO THEM ON A PLATE. WAKE UP
Actually I have to admit with the last anonymous poster that to live in Salcombe is not a god given right.
If you cannot afford to live somewhere you really do have to move to somewhere where you can.
The last time I was in Monaco I do not recall as many people complaining about how they could not afford to live there even if they were born there.
Wake up Salcombe council!!!!!!!!!!!!
Having visited Salcombe recently to be greeted with a boutique owner rushing out to tell us if we intended sleeping overnight in our motor home ,the police would be called!
How's that for a greeting to a town,no matter how gorgeous the scenery? It is a town's residents who create an atmosphere and in this instant we found it to be unfriendly and hostile.We added our little contribution to the town's economy that evening but did not stay as we had intended to.The town is so artificial and full of shops that smack of wealth and greed.Such a shame and reading all these letters I can see where the self centred attitude comes from and how it damages a town.We will not recommend friends to visit .
Having read this I can only say that thank goodness the vast majority of those fortunate enough to have the resources and employment to have a second home or indeed be able to afford to buy their own home in Salcombe are aware of their privilege and good fortune and don’t share the unbelievably bigoted, prejudiced, narrow minded, pompous, snobbish views of those in most of this blog.
I am a resident of Salcombe and have lived here all my life and readig some of these comments has made me so incredibly angry! This is my home and contrary to what some of you seem to believe, I am strongly of the opinion that I have a right to live here. I grew up here, went to school here and now raise my own children here (also now attending the local school) My family and support network are in Salcombe and this is the only home I have ever known and it is not my right to be here??!!! Unfortunately we live in an area of the country where the wages do not reflect the cost of living, but is this the local people's fault? or is it the fault of the affluent second home owners who have forced up the cost of both rental and puchasing proerties out of the locals price range?! The local authorities have allowed the situation to spiral out of control with the percentage of all properties owned by second home owners in Salcombe now exceeding 70%! I am therefore forced to work a 50hr week as a single parent in order to support my family and afford the extautionate cost of privately rented property (averaging 750pcm) Most of the local residents who are in desperate need of more affordabe housing do not fit the sterotypical bill of being 'Benefit bum's' They are just badly paid, hardworking young families, that are desperate for a better standard of living with more affordable housing options in the town that they and their families have grown up in generation after generation.
The local people are as much concerned about the intention of the local council as many of the affluent second home owners that wish to keep Salcombe as beautiful and welcoming as it has always been. We are aware of the dangers of introducing so many affordable homes to the area and the implications this may have with regards to a potential influx of 'undesireables' to Salcombe. Therefore I think tight restrictions in this instance must be applied with regards to who is brought in from surrounding areas and this affordable housing be limited to local Salcombe residents and the near surronding areas only.
It seems the comments left on this site are by those who do not fully understand the difficulties faced by the local people many of which have no choice to move away from their families and homes in order to support themselves, as a result we face problems such as with the local primary school which has on several occasions near faced closure as there are simply not enough children to fill it. I think these affluent second home owners would do well to remember that while Salcombe is their piece of unspoilt heaven for a few weeks of the year, this is our home and we have a right to a reasonable standard of living and just because we don't have a huge amount of money it doen't give us any less of a right to be here.
I am aware that my posting is a good year or two after the original thread but i have had a drink or two as a result of being a delivery driver who frequents salcombe throughout the year, and i, as every driver, detests Salcombe. Firstly, every single town or village in the area has affordable housing for people, take galmpton, marlborough and even hope cove for examples. This should not be looked down upon as these are blatantly not 'second homes' for well off people but rather new families who want to contribute to the local ecomomy, but god forbid someone wants to help out a community despite earning less than 50k a year. I can safely say both the residents and the holiday home owners/customers are equally obnoxious and as a town the only popularity you have is the scenery. Second only to the overpriced shopping experience for inferior goods, maybe that's something to think about instead of the 'undesirables' living slightly near your overprotected children. Incidentally, I live in Plymouth which has been slated constanly in this series of postings, maybe the contributers should come and visit and see how normal people live their lives. Honestly, acceptingly and politely.
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