I have recently obtained evidence from Cornwall Council proving that for the last nine years, efforts by social landlords to increase affordable housing in Cornwall were almost totally undermined by the number of ‘first homes’ turning into holiday lets.
Holiday lets have increased by 60%, from 7077 in November 2017 to 12244 in April 2026 (total increase 5167) meanwhile the net gain in affordable homes has been 5,609.
This will keep happening, until planning rule are brought in that stop communities being eroded in this.
Please share this petition as widely as you can and perhaps consider a small donation to help it spread.
I am very pleased to say that Andrew George the MP for St Ives, has agreed to receive this petition at Parliament. He is putting forward a private members bill to bring in planning controls on holiday lets and second homes and the more signatories this petition gets, the better able he is to claim public support for this policy.
After forwarding my research to the BBC, I was invited to appear last week on the BBC SouthWest Sunday Politics and Spotlight, in both of which this issue featured prominently! (Should still be available on I-Player)