Cornwall’s wealthiest village is getting a £600,000 boost grant

There has been some consternation that one of the most expensive areas not just in Cornwall but in the whole of Britain has received a Leveling Up grant, a scheme which was set up to help the poorest areas of the country. The neighboring villages of St Minver and Rock – the latter a favorite playground of the rich and royal – have benefited from a £600,000 taxpayer-funded grant from Cornwall Council.

As part of the Government’s Leveling Up programme, and to replace European funding, Westminster has given Cornwall Council a £137m Shared Prosperity Fund to be distributed to community organisations. As part of this, St Minver Community Hub received £600,000 for a new building to replace a cluster of huts and temporary structures for the Scouts, Guides, Football Club and local health centre. The group has already raised a further £300,000 in donations to start building work.

The Daily Mail reported that some locals are stunned by the windfall, which will benefit residents of the Rock, where house prices reach £1.2 million and is the third most expensive village in Britain for property. Homeowners include chef Gordon Ramsay, who has a £5m mansion overlooking the sea, Fifty Shades Of Gray author EL James, who has a £2m home, and Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, who paid £2 million for a holiday home in a nearby village. Princes William and Harry have vacationed in the area before.

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Margaret Marshall, 86, who has lived in the area for more than 40 years, told the national newspaper: “Do we really need this? I can understand why local people think other areas of Cornwall need leveling more.” Another resident Patricia Core said: “It’s not fair. Other parts of Cornwall need facilities much more. If they want to level us up, then offer housing we can afford or surgery we can afford.”

One woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she was “absolutely blown away” by the grant, while another described it as a “vanity project”, according to the Mail. However, others such as Maureen Dodd, 87, defended the project, saying: “It will be great for children and include a cafe where older people can meet. We’re not all millionaires here. We are just ordinary people. who worked to live”.

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A spokesman for Cornwall Council told us that St Minver and St Endellion wards are ranked 14,501 out of 32,844 wards in England where one is most deprived, as identified by the National Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), which measures deprivation in small geographic areas. or neighborhoods. “So it is in the bottom half of the list of the most deprived boroughs in England. The perception of the area outside is of luxury homes by the sea, but people fail to see the deprivation a few meters away.

“There is a difference between the very rich and those living in poverty in the same community. The picture is of residents who are people at the wealthier end of the scale, but this masks the presence of others on very low wages – 18.9% of children. under 16 live in low-income families.”

The spokesperson explained that the funded scheme will replace two existing aging log cabins and changing rooms and a temporary cabin providing local medical services after the surgery is relocated.

“The facilities are no longer fit for purpose (disabled access, decay and isolation) and prevent these clubs and organizations from providing a full range of activities and services and recruiting new members. The investment will future-proof a number of community groups and organisations, as well as the health hub, but also provides a modern, fully accessible, energy-efficient space that will be at the heart of the community.

“It will provide a range of much-needed facilities and activities aimed at those most in need in the community, boosting community cohesion and supporting activities for all age groups. The investment will enable skills and training workshops and events from Cornwall’s health and wellbeing colleges. activities from the social prescription and employment support services.”

As the body responsible for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall Council ensures that decisions about projects receiving funding are made in line with the Investment Plan for Good Growth.