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!
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE CORNISH
SIR FRED TO LIVE IN HELFORD
Sources close to Sir Fred Goodwin (left) the much-vilified former CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, say that he is to move to the village of Helford, on the south-east Lizard peninsula.
Goodwin, probably the most hated man in Britain, is seen by most people as the archetype of the "fat cat" bank bosses who walked away with millions in pensions and bonuses after driving their institutions to the edge of bankruptcy -- and sometimes beyond.
While billions of taxpayers' money were spent in propping up the failing banks, and ordinary bank employees were made redundant or saw their own pension funds halved in value, Sir Fred and his ilk gracefully departed the scene to enjoy a champagne lifestyle.
One has to have some sympathy for Sir Fred, though. It can't be much fun being the most hated man in Britain. Recently his house and car were vandalised. It's rumoured that he's taken to wearing a disguise on the rare occasions that he ventures outside.
So why is Sir Fred moving to Helford (shown on the left)? Our source said that "he wants to live among like-minded people, somewhere where he doesn't feel out of place".
Recently Helford attracted national attention when the so-called "Helford Village Society", which is dominated by second-home owners who rarely visit the village, objected to local fishermen's plans to build a jetty at which to land their catches.
Although plans for the new jetty were approved by the district council almost two years ago -- to the satisfaction of local conservation bodies -- they are on hold because members of the Village Society have forced a judicial review of the council’s decision. It will cost the council a considerable amount of money to put their case and local council tax payers will have to foot the bill.
Our informant is convinced that Sir Fred will feel at home in Helford. He told us: "Fred will probably become a leading light in the Village Society. They're his kind of people. And they'll love him."
Iggy Polglaze, owner of the local shop, is delighted that Sir Fred is moving to the village. "This'll definitely push up the tripper numbers. Everyone 'll want to come an' 'av a go at Sir Fred. We're gettin' in a new line in half-bricks,an' we expect to make a bomb!"
