This will not be a 'new' news story to the people resident in the Beacon villages area. It was reported in the Western Morning News a couple of months ago and then in the Okehampton Times towards the end of April. However, it is still a story worth repeating for all our visitors from outside the area.
Devon has been one of the areas that have been hit (or blessed - depending on your point of view) with the incredible rise in the price of housing over the past couple of years. Just why this is, is due to many factors - low interest rates probably being the most significant. Low interest rates are a two edged sword for they not only mean that the cost of borrowing is low and so it is less painful to have a mortgage but also that there is no point in putting your spare cash in traditional savings, as the rate of return is so poor. This, coupled with the stock market crash since the twin towers tragedy has encouraged people with money to invest in property instead. Devon being such an attractive part of the country, has become the ideal spot to purchase an investment second home, for oneself or for letting.
Supply and demand has worked in the usual way so that, as demand has exceeded the number of properties on the market, prices have risen. Initially this was to the advantage of those wishing to sell but now this is only true if you do not want to sell in order to move to an equally desirable part of the country. Now, the winners are those involved in the development/sales/finance/legal aspects of the property market and the losers are particularly the young local people who would like to live where they grew up but cant afford to buy a property. A further aggravating factor is that the West Country is an area of low wages, depending as it does heavily on the tourist industry. This means that the young locals also have trouble renting affordable accommodation.
Paul Nielson is a GP in the Okehampton Health Centre. He is, in fact, my GP and a very caring and considerate one at that. He is also a very dynamic character, getting involved in all kinds of projects, charitable, fund raising, etc. and was a prominent mover in the development and equipping of the new Okehampton Hospital. I didn't know but apparently Paul has some farmland and, after listening to the problems of some of his patients with regard to affordable housing, he was moved to start another project to design and build a house "big enough for a small family and made out of traditional materials". After he began the project it took him and two helpers just five weeks to complete the building itself. Of course, he had the advantage of having the land, which would need to be purchased separately but the cost of the house itself was under £30,000.
The house is now used for holiday letting and Paul is setting up a business to promote the scheme. The project was featured on local TV and produced much interest in the form of phone calls and visits from would be first time buyers - young people and their parents. The new company will have several aims - "To try and persuade Councils to free up land for self build, to act as an advisory service and as a manufacturer of houses with good aesthetic design, which will last."
For more information, contact Dr. Paul Nielson on 01837 811150.
