Our quiet seaside village is being wrecked by celebrities and second home owners who buy our humble properties for stupid prices and turn them into monstrous retreats - we fear we're being priced out of our own homes

Daily Mail​

25-05-2025

Families living in a Cornish village fear they will be priced out by Hollywood A-listers as more movie stars convert properties into holiday botholes.
Cate Blanchett and Jason Statham are among those who have homes in Mawgan Porth, a peaceful former fishing village.
The surfing spot has become a destination for the wealthy, who are increasingly converting bungalows into second homes and building mansions up the side of the hill.
And while some business owners embrace the newcomers, not all locals are happy with the changing face of the quaint town.
The Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings actress was believed to have been the first celebrity to buy a property in the village.
Imogen Stubbs, Fifty Shades of Grey actor Jamie Dornan, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Hollywood actor and foodie Stanley Tucci are also reported to have bought properties there.
Locals say the influx of A-list celebrities has 'ruined' the picturesque village and turned it into a 'building site' - with prices being hiked to 'unaffordable levels.
John Bradley, a retired builder, has lived with his wife Barbara, 77, in the town for 19 years.
He said: 'If you look across the road, five of the seven bungalows are holiday homes and do you think we're happy with that?
'People lived in one for 30 years and moved out of the country. This guy bought it and as soon as he comes in he wants to take the roof off and put another roof on it. I gave him my views straight away.
'There's a place down the road which is rented out for £7,500. It's just ridiculous. It's not even in keeping.'
The stretch of properties along the seafront in Mawgan Porth features a series of multi-million pound developments that have attracted the rich and famous.
At the heart of the cliff-top scene is a five-bed eco-home being built by the Oscar-winning Blanchett after she got planning permission to knock down the £1.6million cottage she bought with her playwright husband Andrew Upton.
Pictures also show other 'Californian' style mansions that have taken over the landscape of traditional homes in what was once called 'Cornwall's best kept secret' that lies between Padstow and Newquay.
Some have claimed the village has been 'overrun' with second homeowners and is left like a ghost town in winter.
John, 81, has run a bed-and-breakfast in his house for several years but says he is against AirBnBs as they do not have to comply with as many regulations.
He feared that the renovations set precedents for other neighbours to do the same to their properties and worried the council did not step in enough.
John added: 'The only people benefiting from these second homes are the builders and gardeners. It keeps certain local people in work so in that way it's good but we have lost the community.
'I understand that when the top end of the earners have money, the most sensible place to put it is in accommodation.
'There's no doubt about it, it's safer than anywhere else, and any returns are going to be better than investing anywhere else.
'But it means that places like this become an empty shell and that is very sad.
'I would like to see celebrities contribute more to the community.'
One resident said: 'I think locals are being priced out.
'We've got a humble little bungalow but every time someone comes and buys one, they knock it down and build some kind of monstrosity.
'I think it's losing its character because there is a lot of money coming in.'
He said it was empty in winter but added: 'I don't mind it too much because I like the quiet.'
'It seems a waste but round here it's been like that. It is very holiday home-ish.
'It seems like they're taking away the character. I know everything has to get modern but that's not what we moved here for.'
One of his neighbours had been replaced with an Airbnb and he said the ratio of permanent residents and second homes was about half and half.
He said: 'We know lots of people have got to our age and have passed away, the houses have been sold off and they become a holiday home.
He said the area's reputation attracted the wealthy which in turn priced out locals.
The resident added: 'People are being priced out. I don't particularly blame Cate Blanchett but it's people like that.
'At the bottom of our garden something is being built. There are a lot of people with money.'
Debbie, a retired resident said: 'Lived here 20-odd years. It doesn't bother me. There are couples and families living in the posh bit. If we moved our house would become a holiday home.'
The 68-year-old said: 'There aren't many bungalows left now but they were all like this. 'There aren't many places to work here for young people to move in and get jobs.
'Jobs are poorly paid so there is no way you can afford a house. It's a lovely place as long as nothing else gets built up.'
But Stuart Kirk, the owner of Bettie's general store, said Cate Blanchett's situation was not unique.
He said: 'Because she's a celebrity everybody latches onto it. It happens in every village around Cornwall, people buying up homes.
'So many houses have been bought up for stupid money. An old client of ours sold her house for £900,000 and somebody literally just bought it and flattened it and built something else in its place.
'It was just a three-bedroom house.
'It's not specific to this area; it's happening all over Cornwall.
'I grew up in the area. I've owned this shop for 21 years now but when I first bought it in 2003 the houses were too expensive then anyway.
'It's because of the location.'
The 53-year-old said: 'I see it as an issue from a business point of view. When I took over there were RAF houses and you would get constant trade coming through the village but now we still see regulars of all ages because there are still people living in the village here but the whole demographic does change.
'Somebody elderly might have a house here but their family might decide not to live here so then that generation and that family's gone.
'But I do think housing prices have topped and are starting to come down now.
'We do have a very strong community here. You can come down here on a winter's evening and see a lot of lights on.
'It's surprising how many people do live up there.'
He said the programme Playing Nice starring James Norton had been filmed there which had attracted tourism and interest.
He had seen Statham a few times and Stanley Tucci and his family often visited the surf shop to chat with them.
'We are proud', Stuart said. 'It is quite nice to have the reputation.
'I don't think the population will ever phase out. I don't think it will ever end up where the whole village is holiday homes.
'But if they are holiday homes, they're always occupied. If you speak to any holiday home owner around here, they're always booked up.
'There is always somebody here; it's not like it's going to be left empty for three months and we're going to be turned into a ghost town.'