Gordon Ramsay’s Cornish fishing village of Rock – where average house prices are £1.2m

• Cornwall Council awarded Rock and St Minver £600,000 taxpayer-funded grant
• The seaside hotspot has been awarded for the construction of a new community centre
• One resident said: “It’s not fair. Other parts of Cornwall need more facilities’

It’s a millionaire’s playground favored by celebrities, royalty and hordes of super-rich second-home owners.

Which is why some locals are questioning why Cornwall Council has awarded the villages of Rock and St Minver a £600,000 taxpayer-funded leveling grant.

The seaside hotspot, where average property prices rose to £1.2m last year, has received the windfall to build a new community centre.

The government’s equalization fund should benefit the poorest areas of the UK.

But the pretty fishing village of Rock is one of the most expensive places to buy property in the country.

The wealthy are drawn to its secluded coves, well-stocked delicatessens and upscale restaurants, including Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant across the Camel estuary from Padstow.

Click here to resize this module

Princes William and Harry were photographed surfing in nearby Polzeath.

Homeowners include chef Gordon Ramsay, who has a £5million mansion overlooking the sea, Fifty Shades Of Gray author EL James, who bulldozed a bungalow to build a £2million pile, and foreign secretary Lord Cameron, who paid £2 million for a holiday home in a nearby village.

The £600,000 grant was awarded following an application from the St Minver Community Hub trust to replace huts used by local scout groups and football teams.

The group has already raised a further £300,000 in donations to start building work.

Last night, baffled locals wondered why they qualified for the grant.

Margaret Marshall, 86, who has lived in the area for more than 40 years, said: “Do we really need it?

“I can understand why local people feel that other areas of Cornwall need more levelling.

“Another longtime resident, Patricia Core, said, ‘It’s not right. Other parts of Cornwall need facilities much more.

“If they’re going to level us up, then provide housing we can afford or surgery we can afford.”

One woman, who asked not to be named, said she was “absolutely blown away” by the £600,000 grant, while another described it as a “vanity project”.

Residents pointed out that there were already many public buildings serving the community.

Click here to resize this module

However, Maureen Dodd, 87, defended the plans for a new building, 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 for a living.

The Government’s £4.8bn Equalization Fund was launched in 2020 to improve infrastructure in Britain’s poorest areas.

Local authorities were tasked with allocating grants to areas “most in need”, based on factors such as economic recovery and growth, transport links and the need for regeneration.

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly councils received £137m to be distributed to community organisations.

Some areas of Cornwall are among the poorest in the UK. Around a third of children under 15 living in Penzance Quay grow up in poverty, according to government figures.

But Rock is the third most expensive village in Britain, with house prices almost three times the average for Cornwall, according to estate agents Yopa.

Last night, a council spokesman said: “The perception of the area from the outside is of luxury seaside homes, but people fail to see the deprivation a few meters away.”

She said the new building would replace “outdated” log cabins and “provide a range of much-needed facilities and activities for those most in need in the community”.