The Cornish seaside town of St Ives attracts thousands of visitors, drawn each year to its beautiful beaches and thriving art scene. But for those who live and work here, ordinary life in a tourist hotspot brings huge challenges they are demanding politicians address.
“It’s a lovely place to be… but I don’t think I will ever be a homeowner.”
Ben Hodgkinson is busy scanning the harbour in the midday sun, trying to catch the eye of passers-by and sell them tickets for boat trips to see seals and dolphins.
The 32-year-old has lived in St Ives his whole life, and like many people here relies on tourists for his livelihood.
There is a gentle bustle in the air as visitors take in the golden sands and turquoise seas – “it has been a bit quiet today, but it will pick up”, he says.
Ben thinks he knows which way he will vote, but says he has not been entirely convinced by what he has heard so far.
“Making housing affordable would be the number one challenge here.
According to the St Ives Tourism Association, the town has the second highest visitor-related spend in the UK, topping £85m a year.
It has 540,000 day-trippers and 220,000 staying visitors a year.
“Tourism is a blessing and a curse,” says Ben.
“We wouldn’t be anywhere without tourism, but it pushes the prices up.
“It is a lovely place to be but lots of people can’t afford to stay here to live.”
A study by the University of Exeter in November 2022 calculated a gap of £229,878 between the amount the average earner could borrow and the average price of a flat in the town.
In 2016, St Ives voted to ban the sale of new builds to second home buyers, but research by the London School of Economics in 2019 concluded this only served to increase demand on existing homes and push up rental prices.
