A peaceful but poignant protest over Cornwall’s continuing housing crisis took place outside the office of MP George Eustice.
At the centre was Sue, whose family face eviction on December 4: They have been on the housing list for seven years.
The protest was joined by Cornwall Councillor Dr Loveday Jenkin (Mebyon Kernow), Camborne Town Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Camborne, Mike Champion and representatives from groups including Kernow Matters.
"This protest occurred in a week when a Camborne nurse who works in the operating theatre at Treliske Hospital faces eviction with her predicament making the BBC news," said a spokesperson.
"Incredibly, the scourge of the holiday trade is now hitting towns such as Camborne. A one bedroom flat in the town is being marketed for holiday maker use at the price of £3,012 per calendar month."
Kernow Matters says it is communicating with all of Cornwall’s MPs over the issue of the impact of second and holiday homes on families in the county.
"As we have warned, second homes, Air BnBs, and speculative development aimed at wealthy incomers is hollowing out our communities, leaving behind a trail of personal grief and tragedy.
"When will this be recognised by the Westminster central government as it is recognised by the government of Wales who are taking positive steps in that country where similar issues are faced?"
Cornwall Council says it is taking action to address some of the issues.
A £300M proposal to tackle the mounting pressure on housing in Cornwall is set to go before the Council’s leading cabinet for approval.
The Housing Crisis Plan proposals have been developed with Cornwall Council’s housing partners and were also shaped by survey responses from more than 2,500 people in October.
The plan covers four main areas: working towards ending homelessness and rough sleeping, and reducing the reliance on short-term hotel and B+B accommodation; improving availability and access to homes for local residents; and increasing the supply of affordable homes in Cornwall.
Among the policies being put forward are some significant changes. The Council has proposed encouraging private landlords to make their properties available to help meet housing needs through improved financial and tax incentives.
There’s also a proposal to Government that planning permission should be needed to switch a home to a second residence or holiday let, and that the authority should be able to charge double Council Tax on second homes.
And in future, developers of rural exception sites could be told that 100 per cent of homes must be for affordable home ownership and rent.
Olly Monk, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning, said: “This is the start of a multi-faceted approach to address the housing crisis. There are lots of aspects to the plan and each one will make a significant difference to the overall crisis – now, in the medium term and moving on into the future.
“This plan will involve more than £300m of potential investment moving forward into housing that the people of Cornwall want.
“It will also go some way to try to get the legislative changes we need at Parliament to be able to control the amount of second homes, and give
us the ability to be able to set a Council Tax surcharge against those homes.”