{"id":672997,"date":"2026-07-04T06:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T06:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/672997\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T06:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T06:48:10","slug":"cornwall-van-dwellers-face-homelessness-amid-council-crackdown-cornwall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/672997\/","title":{"rendered":"Cornwall van dwellers face homelessness amid council crackdown | Cornwall"},"content":{"rendered":"

People living in caravans and horseboxes on farms in Cornwall<\/a> because they can\u2019t afford or find a house to rent are facing homelessness after a crackdown by the council.<\/p>\n

Cornwall council recently announced<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Dawn, a 59-year-old former care worker who now cleans holiday lets in Cornwall, told the Guardian she was \u201cheartbroken\u201d at being forced to move the horsebox that she has lived in for three years in a tucked-away spot on a farm.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such a shock,\u201d she said. \u201cThe council took aerial photos and captured my caravan. The farmer has asked us to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cornwall\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s social housing register waiting for a home. In recent years, a growing number of people have begun living in vans<\/a> in Cornwall.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cThe constant packing up and moving was exhausting and stressful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said she could not even afford a room in a shared house on her wages. \u201cLast winter the roof leaked and I was living with damp and mould,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd you can get lonely shut away inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the hardship she felt she had found \u201ca peaceful home\u201d on the farm, alongside several other people in vans. \u201cWe are a little community. We are all vulnerable older people and we support each other. Everyone is here because they have nowhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cIf the council decides they can\u2019t stay, where will they go?\u201d Nicholls said. \u201cEveryone here is vulnerable with serious mental and physical health problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve now used all my savings to apply for individual planning permission for every caravan and I\u2019ve demonstrated that I am meeting every one of their safety and environmental standards,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Cornwall council said: \u201cPlanning 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

In relation to Potters Farm, it said: \u201cCornwall council is aware of the sensitive issues for residents on this site and is in discussion with the landowner to agree a way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People living in caravans and horseboxes on farms in Cornwall because they can\u2019t afford or find a house…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-672997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}