An entire village fear they could be evicted from their homes after their estate went up for sale for nearly £16 million. Residents living in a 1,200-acre estate are fighting to stay in the houses some of them have lived in their whole lives.
For the second time, a fierce battle is ongoing at Trevalga, a tiny hamlet and estate in Cornwall, leaving at least 12 households fearing they will lose their homes. The tenanted estate was placed in a will trust more than 60 years ago when Gerald Curgenven, the owner of the estate until his death in 1959, left the hamlet to Marlborough College in a bid to preserve it for the future.
But after an unsuccessful attempt to sell the estate, which is nestled between Tintagel and Boscastle, in 2010, residents once again had their worlds turned upside down in June, when they all received a letter telling them the hamlet would be put on the market with a guide price of £15,750,000, CornwallLive reports.
They all initially kept quiet, hoping their tenancies would be able to continue under a new owner after being told the sale was "inevitable" - but when the listing for the estate finally appeared, there was no mention of keeping the shorthold tenants in their home.
This has led to another fierce fight to save their homes, in which some families have lived for generations, fearing they could become victim of a no-fault eviction if the estate enters the wrong hands. The listing describes the Manor of Trevalga as a "private ring-fenced estate on the north coast of Cornwall with varied income streams and a myriad of leisure, amenity and redevelopment opportunities".
Serena Partrick, Trevalga resident and chief campaigner, has been leading protest efforts. She said: "There are so many questions that need answering, and we have so little time, money or power. They hold all the cards, and people in the village are terrified of what is to come. As am I. For my sister, my nephews, my community, me.
"Many people these days talk of the death of God leaving a vacuum in modern life, but what about the loss of community? Modern families are dispersed all over the world, where people used to share a street with them for their whole lives. People barely know their neighbours.
"I have known the majority of people in Trevalga from before I could talk. They are as familiar as the sky, and just as comforting. This is my home. This is our home. And I will do whatever I must to protect it."
A spokesman for Marlborough College has explained that the sale is being handled by the trustees, who are liaising with Savills, and says that it is nothing to do with the college.
A Savills spokesperson said: 'The sale is subject to all existing tenancies with the security of tenants remaining unchanged. The trustees have explored thoroughly the future of the estate within the trust structure that binds them and have concluded it is time for there to be a new owner not so constrained."
A petition has been launched by residents fighting to have the sale reflect the true intentions of the late Gerald Curgenven, who left the estate to the college as he had no children or heirs. The petition can be viewed and signed here.
It reads: "There are no second homes in Trevalga, no holiday cottages, no properties emptied of tenants to establish Airbnbs. Few Cornish villages can say the same. However, in more recent years the trustees started to use short hold tenancies and now many people in Trevalga are vulnerable to eviction should the sale go ahead.
"We are a thriving, diverse, rural community, and this sale will devastate us. It is incredible that the trustees would do this during a national housing crisis, with over 21,000 people in Cornwall on our housing waiting list."
