23 July 2004


Thought For The Week

T'eh feer aghtal my oddys eh freggyrt rish yn eysht shoh 

[He is very clever if he can answer this question]

Poor Response?

Affordable houses. Affordable houses. THE local issue of the moment continues to run its fingernails down the blackboard of of the public conscience.

It was revealed this week that the eight affordable homes (bedsits and single bedroom flats to be precise) that were created as part of the development of the old Roach's Garage site in Cardboard Bay have not sold. As was vaguely reported many moons ago in SSI there was considerable initial interest in the bedsits when the scheme was first announced with applications finally being whittled down to 37 from whom 8 were drawn by the scientific application of a tombola.

Now, Penwith District Council is having to write to a further 70 known eligible candidates in the area to see if they are interested in buying the homes, which are being offered at £50,000 some 40% less than the going rate.

"This is beyond belief and I am utterly mystified," quoth the MD of Affordable Homes of Cornwall Ltd. "Please, can someone tell me why these bedsits are not selling? Quite clearly, there is something very seriously wrong here which both the council and ourselves need to understand and put right."

OK, then, SSI is always willing to try to help out those in need. Among the criteria for being eligible to purchase one of these homes you need to have lived in the area for at least 3 years, be a genuine first time buyer, have a genuine housing need and be unable to buy on the open market. Is there, perhaps, some small chance that the people who fit this description could also be the people identified in the the recent TUC report who earn less than £250 gross per week? For, as anyone with a simple grasp of economics would be able to tell you, people on such a level of income in zero security/zero prospects jobs are (a) unlikely to be able to stump up a deposit or (b) be able to get a mortgage for £50K.

So, when they build affordable homes in third world economy areas like Penwith what they need to do is make them affordable by the standards of local income, not the national average.

Hardly rocket science, is it?

One Hundred And Eleven

Oh well, any excuse for a party .....

Penzance will be having a big bash next year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. Penzance has a long and heroic association with the historic event consisting of .......

...... well, ..... er, ..... they claim to be the first town to have received the news of the victory and Nelson's death.

And that's it, really. A truly heroic contribution by the people of Penzance, I'm sure you'll agree. Curiously enough, the villages on the western Polish border do not hold similar commemorative parties even though they were the first people to hear the news that World War 2 had started!

Summer Hellidays Are Here!

Yes, it's that glorious time of year once more, when local residents say goodbye to their homes, loved ones and lives as the hordes of holiday orcs swarm around our Helm's Deep.

This year, at least, the authorities have decided to finally stop pretending everything is tickety-boo and have announced a police clampdown on drunkenness and anti-social behaviour. They will be carrying out extra high-visibility patrols on Friday and Saturday nights to combat the oafs and hoolies.

Curiously, this temporary initiative will run for the duration of ..... the school holidays. I wonder why!

Rendez-vous?

So, as I said, it is the time of the Great Evil and we are all hunkering down in our bunkers for the duration.

I hope to commune with you all again some time but if you don't hear from me after a couple of months assume I didn't make it.

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