S
Saphire
Guest
...the locals who have lived there for generations can't afford to live there.
"The Cornish seaside town of St Ives has been turned into a 'theme park' after being swamped by tourists with locals being evicted to free up Airbnb rentals, it emerged today.
Homes for sale in the town, especially those on the harbourside, now range between £700,000 and £1million, with the average price now at £440,000, more than 17 times the average salary of Cornwall's year-round residents.
Families who have lived in St Ives for generations are being forced out as millionaires bank up land or homes, renting them out for up to £7,000-a-week.
'At times, people in the town feel that they are just operatives in a theme park,' said Stefan Harkon, a St Ives RNLI lifeguard for many years, adding: 'We work in an area but we can't live in it."
"The Cornish seaside town of St Ives has been turned into a 'theme park' after being swamped by tourists with locals being evicted to free up Airbnb rentals, it emerged today.
Homes for sale in the town, especially those on the harbourside, now range between £700,000 and £1million, with the average price now at £440,000, more than 17 times the average salary of Cornwall's year-round residents.
Families who have lived in St Ives for generations are being forced out as millionaires bank up land or homes, renting them out for up to £7,000-a-week.
'At times, people in the town feel that they are just operatives in a theme park,' said Stefan Harkon, a St Ives RNLI lifeguard for many years, adding: 'We work in an area but we can't live in it."