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21-02-2006, 11:20 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 21/2/06 21:25, in article ,
"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote:

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

LOL! 2 tiny cottages are for sale in this area - one right now and one
coming up! The smallest is very small, with its largest bedroom being
12'x8' and it needs everything doing to it. It's guide price is £195,000
and they've had more than six offers over that! OTOH, to make you feel
better, it's just snowed without any warning at all - vicious flurry of snow
for about 3 minutes and now it's stopped, though the sky is still leaden. A
keen gardener like you would be a very welcome neighbour, I'm sure - the
Nursery would be thrilled to see you! ;-))

*HOW* much? How are the local youngsters going to get onto the bottom
rung even of the housing ladder?

They're not. The South Hams is apparently "highly desirable" as to location
and with good reason. It's a beautiful place to live. But while so many
surrounding areas have so many second homes in them, local people will never
afford to start buying houses here while they're young. In our particular
area, I know of only one second home and that has been owned by the same
family since the last war and the only alteration made to it is the
installation of an indoor bathroom. They still cook over the open fire.
But in e.g. the Salcombe area I'm told that many shops close in winter
because so many second home owners don't appear and some years ago, an
estate agent tried to sell me a house in another, not-too-far-distant
location by telling me that it was very quiet because most of the
neighbours were absent most of the time!
I should add that the owners of the two properties I mention are the Church
Commissioners and that the reason that one of those cottages is up for sale
(as will be the farm to which it is linked and for over £1mill we reckon) is
because the farmer is giving up farming because he is sick of working all
hours to receive less than working value for the milk his cows produced.
The cows are gone and the cottage was, until recently, occupied by the
cowman.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
)