AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE CORNISH

In a extraordinary piece of "blue sky thinking", Danish architect Per Simmon believes he has hit on a revolutionary way to solve the chronic housing shortage in Cornwall.

It is well known that a variety of toxic factors -- for example, the purchase of second homes and holiday homes by absentee owners, massive immigration by wealthy retirees from more prosperous areas of the country, and the sale of communal housing stock (a significant proportion of it now resold to well-heeled incomers) -- has meant that a large section of the local population struggles to put a roof over its head.

To solve the problem, Per Simmon has designed what he calls a "traditional stone bungalow" that will be cheap to construct and affordable even by people on depressed Cornish wages.

Said to be based on traditional 18th century "2 up, 2 down" miners' cottages, the "Fogou" is in fact a "0 up, 1 down" design. Its designer claims that it is very environmentally friendly, being built entirely of locally-sourced materials -- granite, wood, moss and mud -- and using no oil, electricity, or gas for heating (there is none).

Per Simmon's backers propose to build two estates, each consisting of 100,000 Fogou dwellings, near Helford, in south Cornwall, and Rock, in north Cornwall.

The new houses will be built by local craftsmen using traditional skills that have been employed in the region for millenia.

Coming as it does hot on the heels of similar plans by Trewern Builders to build affordable ecohomes for rent or sale to local people, this proposal is good news indeed.

The Roundup applauds this initiative as an imaginative attempt to fix a long-standing social problem. Well done, Per!