Cornwall van dwellers face homelessness amid council crackdown

Half of county’s planning infringement notices target caravans in fields, fuelling eviction fears for vulnerable people

People living in caravans and horseboxes on farms in Cornwall because they can’t afford or find a house to rent are facing homelessness after a crackdown by the council.

Cornwall council recently announced that it was one of the top five authorities in England for enforcing infringements of planning regulations. Half of those notices, it said, were served on caravans in agricultural fields.

Dawn, a 59-year-old former care worker who now cleans holiday lets in Cornwall, told the Guardian she was “heartbroken” at being forced to move the horsebox that she has lived in for three years in a tucked-away spot on a farm.

“It was such a shock,” she said. “The council took aerial photos and captured my caravan. The farmer has asked us to leave.”

Cornwall’s economy is driven by the 4 million tourists who come every year, drawn by its picturesque coves and seaside villages. But tourism means it has become more lucrative for landlords to own one of an estimated 24,000 Airbnbs and holiday lets rather than let houses longer term to local people.

With about 13,000 visitors also owning second homes in Cornwall there is fierce competition for longer rentals in many areas and prices can be high. There are now more than 23,000 people on the council’s social housing register waiting for a home. In recent years, a growing number of people have begun living in vans in Cornwall.

Dawn lost her house 13 years ago when her partner left her and she was unable to keep up the mortgage payments. Before finding the farm, she spent a decade moving around in a caravan, living in campsites and car parks, often feeling unsafe. “The constant packing up and moving was exhausting and stressful,” she said.

She said she could not even afford a room in a shared house on her wages. “Last winter the roof leaked and I was living with damp and mould,” she said. “And you can get lonely shut away inside.”

Despite the hardship she felt she had found “a peaceful home” on the farm, alongside several other people in vans. “We are a little community. We are all vulnerable older people and we support each other. Everyone is here because they have nowhere else.”

Elsewhere in Cornwall, at Potters Farm in the village of Halvasso, near Falmouth, the 75-year-old owner Sue Nicholls said she had been under investigation for a year by the council for renting pitches in two fields to 35 people who were otherwise facing homelessness. The council has accused her of operating without the necessary licence.

One man who came to Nicholls was living under a bridge in nearby Penryn for three months before he moved there. All residents now face possible eviction. “If the council decides they can’t stay, where will they go?” Nicholls said. “Everyone here is vulnerable with serious mental and physical health problems.”

Nicholls claimed the council had known for years she was taking in homeless people and never told her she needed a licence. Many of her residents were referred to her by the homeless charity St Petrocs in Truro after being flagged as homeless by the council.

“I’ve now used all my savings to apply for individual planning permission for every caravan and I’ve demonstrated that I am meeting every one of their safety and environmental standards,” she said.

A spokesperson for Cornwall council said: “Planning laws and policies are in place to ensure that the right development takes place in the right places. Where breaches occur that could cause planning harm, such as harm to the landscape or neighbour amenity, the council will take steps to remedy the situation.”

In relation to Potters Farm, it said: “Cornwall council is aware of the sensitive issues for residents on this site and is in discussion with the landowner to agree a way forward.”